Video
With the proliferation of tools to harness digital technology that can improve every link of the supply chain, how can executives choose where to invest? Peter Guarraia, a partner in Bain's Digital practice and leader of the firm's global Supply Chain work, shares the key to selecting the best solutions.
Read the transcript below.
PETER GUARRAIA: The value in companies today is largely a sum of the ideas and solutions they're deploying. And increasingly, those ideas and solutions are taking the form of digital supply chain solutions. The challenge companies face is that with digital supply chain, there's a massive proliferation of new solutions out there, ranging from finished goods logistics to raw materials sourcing. And companies are having a very difficult time actually choosing the best solution to deploy. Whether it's too expensive or too long to deploy or frankly takes up too much of the organization's bandwidth as they're thinking about deploying it, they just don't know how to answer those questions.
Our advice is simple. Focus on those solutions that actually allow you to differentiate vis-a-vis your competition. If your differentiation comes in the form of speed to market, focus on solutions that allow you to more efficiently and effectively access the market. If your differentiation comes in the form of customization, focus on solutions that allow you to more effectively customize for your customer. The challenge most companies face is, you want to avoid solutions that effectively prevent your ability to be flexible in the future.
Read the Bain Brief: The Intangible Benefits of a Digital Supply Chain