Guest author Jon Chorley, Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President SCM Product Strategy at Oracle shares his perspective on the latest supply chain predictions for 2013...

A Look Ahead at Global Supply Chains in 2013 

By Jon Chorley, Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President SCM Product Strategy, Oracle

It was February and the predictions for 2013 were still rolling in. The latest is from Bob Ferrari, managing director of The Ferrari Consulting and Research Group and executive editor of the Supply Chain Matters Blog.

Every year Bob compiles predictions for the global supply chain for the coming year and we are always eager to hear what makes the cut. The 10 predictions for this year cover everything from cloud computing to the renaissance of U.S. based manufacturing.

Here are a few that caught our eye:

• Prediction –Supply chain organizations must either embrace and augment resiliency and responsiveness capabilities in 2013 or deal with the consequences of poor business outcomes: Volatile and rapid business changes are the new normal which means it’s even more important for forecasting models. Responsiveness requires decision-making capabilities that are anchored in predictive analytics, the ability to assess and respond to various likely business scenarios. “Supply chain control tower” (SCCT) which addresses the need for quicker, more timely and informed supply-chain wide decision-making, will come to the forefront in 2013.
• Prediction –The executive level voice and shared accountability of the supply chain organization will invariably extend itself into three broader areas: Product design, customer fulfillment, satisfaction and service now cover many more functionally-driven activities and the supply chain now finds itself involved, voluntarily or involuntarily, in each of these areas. One element to this is sustainability – design for sustainability and design for supply chain must come together under a singular initiative.
• Prediction –Cloud computing and managed services options, enabling supply chain business processes, will continue to gain more traction, provided that vendors resolve current lingering customer concerns: Cloud computing will continue to be an attractive option for small and medium-sized businesses, and the popularity of Platform as a Service (PaaS) will continue to climb.

We agreed with many of the predictions, but would be interested to know what you think. To download the full list of 2013 predictions for global supply chains and see how they align with your views for the coming year, visit Supply Chain Matters.