Electronics supply chain managers generally agree that social media has a role to play in business, but nobody’s sure exactly what it will be. All partners are struggling with the same set of questions regarding social: What information should be shared, and with whom? What do businesses do with incoming data? How much can this information be trusted? And what will it cost to get involved?
Right now, many individual companies are working within their respective silos to figure this out. E2open, which provides a connectivity platform for supply chain networks, is expanding the base through an initiative to integrate social technologies into its E2open Business Network. “Our customers tend to be innovative, and want to use this technology to be more productive,” Lorenzo Martinelli, SVP Corporate Strategy at E2open, told EBN in a recent phone interview.
Improved communication and collaboration through social technologies could raise the productivity of interaction workers by 20 to 25 percent... These technologies, which create value by improving productivity across the value chain, could potentially contribute $900 billion to $1.3 trillion in annual value.
E2open is focusing on three key areas most pertinent to the supply chain: issue collaboration, demand sensing, and supply risk monitoring. These areas could benefit from social media application, Martinelli says.
Issue collaboration
The most common communication among trading networks is collaboration to resolve supply chain issues, E2open has found. Currently, this communication is typically done via email, instant messaging, phone/conference calls, war rooms, and face-to-face meetings. “There is a belief that the current structure, with different companies in different time zones, is not as productive as it could be,” Martinelli said. He went on:
Since the supply chain already uses a process of exception management, this is a good context in which to start the conversation. For example, if there’s a shortage, have the right people been notified? Are there costs associated with this shortage? Since mobile is already a common communications tool, we think that could be escalated to a higher level of structure. Facebook and Twitter may not be the right platform for this; if not, we could provide one.
Demand sensing
One of the biggest challenges across trading networks is inaccurate demand management due to the volatile nature of forecast planning and limited real-time visibility. According to Martinelli:
The concept is pretty simple. Let’s say I come up with a new lipstick in red and pink. Our forecasts are at best a guess. Now, let’s say we are tracking what people are saying on the social network on red vs. pink. We see more people talking about pink, but my production forecast is for 50 percent red and 50 percent pink. Social can be an indicator to what people really want, and that can help a forecast.
Supply risk monitoring
A critical risk across trading networks is the occurrence of an unplanned event that has a negative impact on the supply of products and/or their logistics movements. Many E2open customers have identified the combination of social media monitoring with cloud-based, big-data, predictive analytics as a potential way to change the economics of supply risk monitoring. Martinelli went on to explain:
There may be a problem with a particular supplier, or a problem that affects all suppliers and logistics lanes in a specific geography. The concept is similar to demand modeling, but the information is about a specific supplier or the logistics route a company takes. Let’s say the Occupy movement has shut down a seaport and I have cargo coming in next week. I could contact a commodity manager and let them know that there will be a delay and help this supplier rebalance inventory. The challenge is building the knowledge base to look for the right things. If we had known about the rains in Thailand, we could have saved millions of dollars.
E2open's customers -- and most members of the supply chain -- spend most of their time just resolving issues, Martinelli says. "If you approach these things in a more structured way, you can improve productivity.”
Anyone interested in the initiative can get involved through this link.
@Greg yes, though G+ did roll out brand and even vanity pages, it doesn't seem to have had much impact on business commications, at least as far as I've seen.
@Ariella I think Google+ could serve that purpose if they chose to focus on business. It has capabilities that other channels do not and again the resource to build applications that businesses require. But as of right now it doesn't appear that they are focusing on that.
Agreed @ secure. Companies won't be expect to write down their confidential details on the face of the forum. The forum can just display the topic and buyers/sellers can specify the basic features of the product they want to deal in. If somebody finds it appropriate, they can inbox the other party.
Well there are many forums where you can find people discussing about positives and negatives of product but forums where actual negotiation takes place are rare and most wanted.
Personally, the last thing I need is another social platform. I don't even use the ones I have. The one good thing I've heard, though, is many of the existing socials allow you to log in through a single site (usually Facebook). That saves me the trouble of memorizing several passwords. On that issue, I've finally started a list of passwords and I'm already up to a dozen just for our intra-company sites. I can't use the same one for these various sites...(no duplicate letters, must have a cap and a number, or two numbers, or I have to chnage it every 90 days....)
Social media channels act as the first point of contact. If there is a good ground for a deeper business discussion the parts involved can move on to an internal forum or a more convenient channel.
I only wonder if instead of finding a way of using the already created social media platforms it will really help to create even more channels for interaction, sharing, internal communication, etc.
@Greg You say that many people overlook Google+. Do you mean to say that it could serve the purpose or that the fact that people do overlook it shows its failing? I'm just wondering. Personally, I enjoy Google+ a lot, though it has tried to become a lot more like Facebook lately.
I would agree that the social platform needs to be global and secure before companies would even look at sharing key information that could impact the supply chain. The medium also needs to be widely adopted for it to be effective. This appears to be the biggest challenge companies like E2open face. Just because they build it doesn't mean they will come. I think many people are overlooking Google+. I'm still not positive it will be adopted by businesses or transform itself into something companies could use but it appears to have the capabilities many of these startup platforms want, and we know it has the resources.
@Prabhakar: Actually, E2open is more of a horizontal model that works across and between silos. Its clients determine which partners participate on which network. E2open may use research as a baseline for social media application, but only its clients "silo." But I see how silos could still happen within a community.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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