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What can be observed with logistics service providers and retailers is also notable in manufac-
turing companies as they digitalize their SCM. Automaker BMW is working on achieving a fully
digitalized factory and on a more dynamic, data analytics-driven supply-chain segmentation for
inbound parts. Referring to the 15th International Trade Fair for Logistics, Mobility, IT and Supply
Chain Management in Munich that ended in May 2015, head organizer Stefan Rummel told
industry journal DVZ: Where logistics people meet, they almost always talk about digitalization.
This seventh edition of A.T. Kearneys European Excellence in Supply Chain Management
study also focuses on digitalization. Conducted jointly with the Khne Institute for Logistics
Management at the German business school WHUOtto Beisheim School of Management, it
delves into the ways that digitalization in all of its formats impacts SCM, based on feedback from
60 industrial and commercial companies throughout Europe (see sidebar: About the Study).
The 2015 European Excellence in supply chain managers could Companies come from 16
Supply Chain Management study answer for the global SCM of their countries (including slightly
is the seventh edition to be companies; another fifth was more than one-third from
published since A.T. Kearney first answering with reference to the Germany) and a wide range of
undertook this research with the European SCM. industries, including automotive,
European Logistics Association chemical, pharmaceuticals,
in 1982. For the purposes of this Most participants route-to- building materials, machinery,
edition, A.T. Kearney and the market is not expected to signifi- fast-moving consumer goods,
Khne Institute for Logistics cantly change between 2013 and metals, electronics, aerospace,
Management of WHUOtto 2017. Fifty-five percent of wholesale, and retail.
Beisheim School of Management revenues are generated directly
conducted an online survey with end customers and users,
on digitalization of the supply 33 percent with resellers, and 12
chain in European industrial percent via a three-step route-to-
and commercial companies market and based on a wide range
between December 2014 and of as many as 650,000 SKUs. On
February 2015. average, participating companies
use the following number of
Overall, 60 companies partici- logistics service providers in
pated, and more in-depth inter- Europe: land freight (109),
views were conducted with 15 of warehousing (13), ocean freight
them. Two-thirds of participating (4), and air freight (3).
From sensors and cloud services to nanotech and big data, a number of technologies drive
digital trends. How fast these technologies advance in performance and cost will determine
how quickly they bring about change in SCM. In figure 1 we identify and describe six big
technology enablers that are digitalizing SCM.
Figure 1
Digital enablers and select implications for supply chain management
Note: GPS is global positioning system, GSM is global system for mobile communications, SCM is supply chain management, UI is user interface, and CKD
is completely knocked down.
Source: A.T. Kearney analysis
Figure 2
Select digital business trends and supply chain management implications
Analytics-driven cross- Using advanced analytics with increasingly Leveraging of data to improve SC demand
functional optimization diverse input to optimize complex forecasting and SC service procurement
and predictive cross-functional trade-offs and facilitate Dynamic data analytics-driven SC
decision making value chain integration segmentation of parts and goods
From human judgment Multi-sensor information, algorithms, More automated SC procurement processes
to machine intelligence big data, and machine learning, leading More automated SC event and risk
to the gradual replacement of human management based on expert systems
judgment by machine judgment
Distributed resourcing Access to everything, anywhere, More complex inbound SCs with more
and growing customer anytime. Growing transparency global suppliers and more variation
buying power and access provide customers of direct and aggregated procurement
with vastly increasing buyer power Leveraging of meta platforms to source
SCM service providers (for example,
trucking companies and couriers)
Micro customization, Matching the long tail of demand, supply, and Need to connect with customers for
matching micro production capabilities to create the ultimate earlier sensing of demand and batch shifts
demand and supply customer fit and fulfillment Managing SCs for very customized
demand and supply; smart and dynamic
SC segmentation
Mounting digital Increasingly intertwined and ongoing Growing exposure to risk with connected
risk exposure activities with customers, suppliers, products, embedded automated services,
and partners; growing exposure to digital and automated cross-company processes
business risks and crimes SC management to SC partners in risk
management and defense planning
Sharing economy Sharing of proprietary assets via e-platforms Additional availability of industrial truck,
to increase utilization and tap into capacities wagon, locomotive, and container capacities
formerly outside of markets
From physical Using digital to extend, expand, enhance, Organization of SCM for services and
product transactions complement, replace, or go beyond physical management of diminishing hardware
to consumption offerings. Using measurability, sensors, and distribution, return logistics, and SC
connectivity to charge for usage instead for different rounds of life cycle
of purchase Management of post-sales SC service
to customers
More usage-oriented pricing with
SC suppliers
Supply chain managers who want to lead the transformation of their SCM into the digitalized age
not only will identify the opportunities and challenges facing their own function, but will also
consider the digital transformation of the entire company, its products and services, and the way
suppliers, customers, and other market partners interact with their company. How SCM can
contribute to the digitalization of the business model is as important as defining the digital
transformation agenda of SCM itself (see figure 3).
Figure 3
Digital supply chain framework
Shared products,
Connected Embedded Omnichannel
1 2 3 product as 4
products services distribution
a service
Digital business model
The SCM function is not digitalizing in a vacuum. While some elements of digitalizing the
SCM function are exclusively within the purview of the SCM departments, such as replacing
paper freight documents with digital ones, the overall digital transformation of the business
model can be thought of as a second dimension of digital outside of its control (see figure 5
on page 6). SCM decision makers who clearly understand the dynamics in this dimension as
well will be better able to address the challenges posed in each dimension. The extent to
which the SCM must transform itself will also depend on whether the company has entered
the market with a digital business model from the beginning as a digital native, or has
adopted it later on as a digital migrant.
Figure 4
Areas of digitalization and supply chain management levers and challenges
Areas for Select digital supply Areas for Select digital supply
digitalization chain management digitalization chain management
of the levers and challenges of supply chain levers and challenges
business model management
Notes: SCM is supply chain management, and GSM is global system for mobile communications.
Source: A.T. Kearney analysis
High
Current state
Low High
European supply chain managers tell us that the key digitalization topic for their companies
is SCM IT integration. This is where they anticipate the greatest impacts and where planned
investments are highest. More than 80 percent of respondents expect the integration of IT
systems and data within their group to offer significant, high, or very high potential for improve-
ments to their SCM, and 77 percent anticipate the same from IT networking with partnering
suppliers and customers in the supply chain. A core finding of the study is not just that businesses
expect IT integration internally and externally to deliver strong benefits in the next three years,
but also that 70 percent of respondents intend to make considerable investments in internal
IT integration (42 percent relevant investments and 28 percent high investments) and 53 percent
in external IT integration with supply chain partners (see figure 6 on page 7).
For many companies, IT integration remains a Herculean task. They still have large numbers of
stovepipe solutions that do not interface or share data seamlessly with other systems. Arriving at
and maintaining globally standardized supplier, material, and product data remains an equally
big challenge. When a supply chain spans multiple countries and partners, new challenges arise
whenever acquisitions are made or partners change. Jan Keller, group vice president for supply
Note: SC is supply chain, SCM is supply chain management, and GSM is global system for mobile communications.
Source: European A.T. Kearney/WHU Logistics Study 2015
chain at ABB, states: As a rule, our internal IT systems are managed locally. The objective has to
be a unified product base thats identical in every country.
In addition, some businesses remain cautious about IT integration with suppliers and
customers. The potential benefits of streamlining their IT may be clear, but a number of
respondents state that they lack a sufficiently trustful relationship with SCM partners to
engage in more intensive data sharing. Alexander Moldenhauer, chief supply chain officer
at Avanco GmbH, explains: Many of our raw material suppliers have started downstream
activities and turn into competitors, so sharing data calls for a special degree of trust.
Moving forward, the larger companies intend to invest more heavily in IT integration along
the supply chain than the smaller companies. This is hardly surprising, given that they are in a
better position to set standards within their supply chain and thus extend IT integration
outside their own organization. Expected benefits are first and foremost substantially lower
inventory levels and more flexible delivery times and batch sizes.
Digital trends are affecting all supply chain IT systems. This not only refers to general needs, such
as seamless integration and interfacing within and across companies, but also includes real-time
synchronization of data, global standardization of implemented work flows, and rising demands
on cyber security. These trends challenge the core of supply chain IT system functionalities and
features, requiring them to evolve to best support areas such as integrated, automated data
gathering, tactical planning, procurement, and execution (see figure 7).
Fifty-seven percent of surveyed supply chain managers plan to invest significantly in demand
forecasting over the next three years (see figure 8 on page 9). This is some 20 points higher than
for other IT systems in SCM. For example, Fortaco, a Finnish production engineering company,
has integrated a forecasting system into its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system which,
Fortaco CEO Lars Hellberg explains, covers downstream customers and suppliers. Not all supply
Figure 7
Implications of digitalization on supply chain IT systems
Interfaces with suppliers, High More standardization of interfaces (including due to more
customers, and supply chain shipper-carrier interaction and more independent providers
service providers of specialized supply chain services)
E-platform proliferation
Inventory planning
63% 37%
and management
Warehouse
72% 35%
management system
Transport
40% 32%
management system
chain partners are tied into the system yet, but the company is one of just a few to have deployed
a fully integrated solution of this kind. Under Nico Weidel, the management team member
responsible for supply chain management at CHRIST, the company has developed its own
forecasting system and integrated it into its existing ERP system.
Seventy-two percent of the surveyed companies say that big data is capable of delivering
strong improvement effects in SCM over the next three years, as we saw earlier in figure 6.
Companies making more than 80 percent of their products to stock see significantly
greater effects (20 percentage points) than companies making more than 80 percent
of their products to order, underlining the high importance of big-data analytics for
make-to-stock businesses.
What supply chain managers expect more than anything through big-data analytics is substantial
reductions in outbound inventory: Fifty-two percent of respondents see clear or even very clear
effects here, versus 40 percent for inbound inventory. Forty-five percent expect improvements in
optimization of batch sizes, and 43 percent expect to reduce SCM risk (see figure 9).
Figure 9
Expected effects of investing in big-data analytics in supply chain management
However, several of the supply chain managers expect big data to also give rise to major
challenges such as the need for culture change (as a consequence of putting faith in data
without necessarily striving to understand causalities) and the creation of capabilities to
network and evaluate the data effectively.
E-platforms, smart tagging, and 3D printing: Few companies confirm high SCM optimization
potential during the next three years
Just 40 percent of the surveyed companies currently use transport management systems and
software to optimize their transport networks and routing. The picture is similar with respect to
using software for electronic management of freight documents.
Only a third of respondents see potential to deliver significant efficiency gains in the three years
ahead by attaching GSM or radio transmitters to products, packaging, or containers to improve
tracking. Insufficient IT integration with other partners in the supply chain, directly or over a
Although supply chain managers do not expect e-platforms to drive a marked shift in the
purchase of logistics services toward direct carrier selection and transactions in the next few
years (only 10 percent of respondents support this notion), 45 percent see e-platforms as
becoming of high significance in the optimization of their supply chains.
Only a small group of respondents expect to see appreciable improvements result from
automation technology, in particular through greater use of robots or self-driving vehicles.
Considering all of these focus areas for digitally driven change and investments, what benefits
do supply chain managers expect from digitalization?
Forty-three percent of the companies expect digitalization to clearly lead to more just-in-time
procurement and lower inbound inventories (see figure 10 on page 12). Dr. Stefan Nken, an
executive board member at toolmaker Hilti, explains: A fully integrated system provides
visibility of inventory levels throughout the entire value chain and thus helps us to reduce
inventory levels substantially.
SCM followers (the companies that self-report their supply chain performance as below
average) see greater benefits of digitalization than SCM leaders (companies rating their
supply chain performance as above average or clearly above average) in every dimension.
The difference between perceptions is particularly large with regard to the potential effects of
digitalization on inventory reduction (62 percent of followers versus 35 percent of leaders).
More than a quarter of respondents expect to see a reduction in the number of stages in the
selling chain through to the end customer. Interestingly, companies that generate 80 percent
or more of their revenues through indirect sales channels are not more inclined than other
companies to use digitalization to circumvent intermediate stages in the selling chain.
The study assigns the expected benefits for companies into the categories of improving
customer value (which can translate into higher sales volume, higher prices, or higher
customer bonding), improving supply chain agility and reducing supply chain risk, and
reducing supply chain costs.
Figure 11
Positive impacts of supply chain digitalization
% of respondents seeing clear or very strong positive impact from digital levers
Better overall SCM decisions
70%
thanks to greater transparency
While 61 percent of companies that market their goods primarily through intermediaries see
digitalization offering a clear benefit in terms of an increase in product and service quality, the
same is only true of a third of companies that generate more than 80 percent of their revenues
through selling directly to end customers.
While only one participating supply chain manager expects a revenue decline for his company
when comparing 2017 with 2013, 23 percent expect overall SCM costs to go down during this
period. And although one-third of participants expect their companys revenues to grow by 10
to 25 percent during this period, less than half see an increase in SCM costs in the same range.
Figure 12
Impact of digitalization on employment in supply chain management
Distribution of responses
Supply chain strategic and tactical planning 10% 60% 30%
The larger the company, the higher the expectation that staff will be cut: close to three-quarters
of the companies with annual revenues of more than 1 billion anticipate making workforce
reductions because of digital trends. Employees working in transport and logistics adminis-
tration functions will be affected the most. In this segment, 47 percent of the companies
expect cuts. The situation is similar in the customs and shipping processing functions.
In contrast, strategic and tactical supply chain planning is becoming more important: it is the
only area in which many companies are planning to increase headcount. As one respondent
explains, Many of the processes directly involved in SCM can be automated and greatly
simplified. Parallel to this, strategic SCM activities will gain greater importance and play a key
role in creating a competitive advantage.
However, it seems no revolution is in sight for the digitalization of supply chains. Supply chain
managers do not plan on transacting directly with carriers rather than using freight forwarders,
and there are no major moves either to eliminate stages in the selling chain to the end customer
or to significantly change batch sizes at each processing stage. Over the next three years,
neither the self-declared SCM leaders nor the SCM followers are planning to make significant
changes to the number of logistics partners they work with. Three-dimensional printing, a
potentially disruptive technology that could change supply chains entirely by printing parts
at the point of need, is expected to only play a minor role until 2017.
The pace for digitalization may increase significantly as cross-industry initiatives aim to better
connect supply chains among companies to achieve next-level cost and delivery speed optimi-
zation. Linking customer data, sales forecasts, historic differences between plans and reality, and
forward-looking SCM data can create much-improved supply chain planning. On the other hand,
linking the transport and logistics procurement systems enabled for collaborative optimization
with operational systems will be one of the tasks that go largely unsolved. Linking virtual produc-
tion simulation to SCM simulation is another item that goes unchecked on many action lists.
The degree of transformation for supply chains will depend on the industry sector and company,
but we expect it to create significant productivity benefits overall, both within the next three
years and beyond. We strongly believe that companies may achieve exponential gains by acting
on some of the supply chain digital levers not presently judged as creating revolutionary change
over the next three years. In manufacturing, many companies that make smart investments in
disruptive supply chain configurations will be able to create a competitive advantage for the
entire business model; 3D printing will be one of them. For the short term, laying the IT and data
groundwork, this study shows, is the highest priority.
Dr. Bernd Schmidt, partner, Dsseldorf Prof. Dr. Carl Marcus Wallenburg,
executive director,
Vallendar and Dsseldorf
wallenburg@whu.edu
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