Towards a consumer-oriented supply chain

Abstract

The current consumer products industry is primarily designed as a customer oriented supply chain; this means that it is designed to fulfill orders from the distribution centers or stores of the retailers. The question posed by retailers and vendors is how might a consumer (not customer) oriented supply chain be defined and designed in a way which retailers and vendors could move towards it in the future? Our methodology consisted of interviews with key stakeholders and industry experts, a literature research, value stream mapping as well as data analysis of historical sales and shipments between a retailer and a vendor that sponsored the project. As a result of our research, we conclude that a consumer oriented supply chain is defined as a supply chain that is triggered by consumer demand data and it implements strong collaboration between the retailer and the vendor, in order to achieve a more efficient response to the consumer needs. A series of interviews with key stakeholders revealed that one of the most important parts of the collaboration is forecasting. Our data analysis depicts that a single, synchronized forecasting of the consumer demand would help both parties operate in a more efficient and collaborative way. As final deliverable we propose a roadmap with short-term and long-term steps necessary to design a consumer oriented supply chain.