Conclusion – The Case for Synchronizing Value and Supply
Value is highly conditioned by the larger social and economic environment through which complex and numerous interactions affect the human perception of value-based transactions. Advertising, social trends, and economic conditions all influence consumer and business valuations of products, serviced, and resources flowing through the value systems in our economy. One of the most watched figures in the marketplace is the consumer confidence index based on a survey of households. This index is an aggregate measure of confidence in the economy and a leading indicator of how consumers will value, and therefore how they will spend money on goods and services. When perceptions of value in a marketplace become exaggerated, market bubbles occur such as the internet technology bubble several years ago. When significant ternds take hold in this larger environment it is difficult, if not impossible, for individual companies of households to avoid being swept along in the sudden creation and destruction of value that may result.
For supply chains to generate maximum value in this dynamic environment, they must synchronize the flows if supply with flows if value from customers in the form of rapidly shifting tastes, preferences, and demand. We need to stop thinking if supply chains and value chains as different entities, but, rather , should integrate the two. Third generation supply chains require that the material flow and product delivery be synchronized and lean, and that the information, knowledge, and financial flows be fully integrated and instantaneous. SCM 3.0 requires that product design be fully integrated with production capability, delivery processes, and information about customer demand. This can be achieved by taking a holistic view of the end-to-end business process throughout the product life cycle and across geographical borders. To continue to debate the importance of supply chain management versus the value chain concept would be folly. Instead, the nest level of business performance will be achieved by companies that learn to integrate fully the concurrent flows of value and supply.