The PwC report you're referring to, emphasizing "delivering superior customer response while managing minimum inventory across supply chain" as the new success mantra, appears to be titled
"Next-generation supply chains - Efficient, fast and tailored."
This report, or articles citing it, from PwC and various news outlets (like The Economic Times and Dataquest India) suggests that the next wave of transformation in logistics is driven by:
- Customer-centricity: A strong focus on meeting and exceeding customer requirements, often implying faster and more tailored delivery.
- Inventory Optimization: The goal of managing minimum inventory levels across the entire supply chain to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
- Profitability and Cost Reduction: These remain top priorities for supply chain executives globally.
The report highlights that companies adopting these strategies, referred to as "next-generation supply chains," tend to be significantly more profitable and responsive to customers.
Key aspects and capabilities discussed in relation to this transformation include:
- Collaborative Planning: Working closely with partners across the supply chain.
- Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI): Suppliers taking responsibility for managing inventory levels at their customers' locations.
- Best Country Sourcing: Optimizing sourcing locations for efficiency and cost.
- Adoption of Next-Generation Technologies: Increasing interest in automation, digital transformation, AI, ML, IoT, and data analytics to gain end-to-end visibility and improve decision-making.
- Sustainability: Integrating sustainable practices into supply chain design and operations.
- Resilience and Adaptability: Building supply chains that can withstand and quickly respond to disruptions (e.g., geopolitical events, material shortages, changing demand patterns).
- Digitalization and Integration: Creating connected, autonomous, and integrated supply chains powered by data and technology. This involves using digital control towers for real-time visibility, optimizing logistics planning and execution, and implementing smart warehousing solutions.
PwC continues to release reports on supply chain transformation, with recent ones like "Reinventing Supply Chains 2030" and "Evolving supply chain paradigm: Driving sustainability through innovation" reinforcing these themes. These newer reports emphasize continuous disruption as the new normal and the need for supply chains to be adaptable, sustainable, and cognitive. They also highlight how digital transformation is key to achieving integrated and collaborative supply chains.
While the original excerpt you provided seems to be based on a PwC report from around
2013-2014, the core principles of customer response, inventory management, and leveraging technology for efficiency and resilience remain highly relevant and are continually explored in subsequent PwC supply chain and logistics publications.
For the most detailed and current information, you would ideally look for the specific report titled "Next-generation supply chains - Efficient, fast and tailored" if possible, or explore more recent PwC supply chain transformation reports like "Reinventing Supply Chains 2030" available on their global website.
