| |June 20198ith the pace at which industries are be-ing disrupted, it's not sur-prising that innovation has become a key point of discus-sion for all businesses. But innova-tion is a vague and broad concept and many businesses find themselves stuck or unsure of how to approach it. There are two common misconcep-tions surrounding innovation. The first: true innovation has to be new. And second: supply chain innovation needs to be disruptive. Some in the industry make the mistake of becoming enamoured with chasing `shiny, new things'. Others mistakenly dis-miss trends altogether. So, how should organisations tackle supply chain innovation? According to a recent study conducted by BluJay Solutions and Adelante SCM, customer experience is the top factor driving supply chain innovation. Forward thinking businesses are moving away from competing on cost and placing customers at the centre of their sup-ply chains, with customer experience becoming a key competitive differentiator. Meeting the demands of modern customersToday's consumers have more product choice and control than ever before. In the supply chain context, consumers expect fast fulfilment with full visibility across the delivery process. From order tracking to real-time updates on delays along the way, consumers want their interactions with brands to be instant and friction-less. These changes in consumer ex-pectations, tied to the rise of `the now economy', have led to mount-ing pressure on supply chain and logistics networks. Gone are the days where shippers could rely on run-ning their transportation networks with spreadsheets and a phone line. Businesses need the right tools and technologies in place for optimization and end-to-end visibility--and ulti-mately to survive in today's economy.Drivers of supply chain innovation Enhancing customer experience requires that businesses first build a firm foundation and get the basics right. Often, businesses lose sight of their purpose in the race to adoption. Accordingly, customer-centric businesses are invest-ing in transportation, warehousing and improving sup-ply chain visibility. This is not a surprise, and no doubt these investment areas will remain important as organi-zations look to optimize their operations, decrease costs and improve customer experience.Conversely, laggards value customer experience far less and focus on cost reduction as a primary factor. In-novators are continuously looking for ways to differen-HOW CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS DRIVING SUPPLY CHAIN INNOVATIONBy Joseph Lim, Sales Director, APAC, BluJay SolutionsW IN MY OPINIONJoseph Lim
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