How a supply chain strategy secures your competitive advantage

Together with the executive board, we align on cornerstones of the corporate vision and strategy as the first step. Consider aspects like the future global footprint, growth plans and product portfolio. This serves as a basis to define supply chain targets in terms of cost efficiency and service level, generally with the goal of either cost leadership or differentiation. 

Once the corporate vision and strategy are aligned, we identify supply chain success criteria. These might include automating or digitizing a segment of the supply chain, for example, or switching to battery-powered vehicles for distribution. VPs and directors in charge of business operations should be involved in this process. 4flow provides global market insights and supply chain best practices as additional input for this step. 

These success criteria are clustered into organization-, process- and IT-related objectives. We then crystalize key priorities for all supply chain functions into guiding principles – for instance, connectivity, sustainability or resilience. 

Based on the results of the previous steps, we define measurable objectives for all major supply chain functions. Supply chain planning, supplier management, physical logistics, production, distribution and reverse logistics should be considered in this step. Each function should have a clear direction in terms of its organization, processes and IT. 

Once your objectives are approved by company and supply chain leadership, it’s time to start putting your strategy into action. We help set up a central team with a clear roadmap and governance to manage the supply chain transformation. A strategic gap analysis helps you identify focus areas based on your status-quo and measurable objectives for each supply chain function. To close identified gaps, schedule and track clear actions and allocate necessary resources.