Lucy Lu was in “Charlie’s Angels” with Drew Barrymore who was in “Donny Darko” with Jake Gyllenhaal who was in “Bubble Boy” with Verne Troyer who was in “Run for the Money” with Christian Slater who was in “Murder in the First” with KEVIN BACON! The “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” (the playful play off of “the six degrees of separation”) is based on the idea that we are all connected through a system of networks. And that, by understanding that network, one can both better navigate the system as well as identify cause and effect relationships. Nothing new, right? Well social media and the social network analysis has changed that. But how does it apply to supply chain? And… is anyone using social media to manage their supply chain?
In short… kind of. It all depends on how you define a supply chain. For me, supply chain is far more than just an operations team or even several functional organizations. Supply chains are networks of highly interdependent processes that bring products and services to customers by matching demand and supply. Social media is clearly used by marketing organizations to message out… so, heavily in the demand side. And in many cases, data on product usage, likes / dislikes and requirements is fed back into design. Again, kind of. But is social media to manage your supply chain likely? practical? possible?
Back to the six degrees networks. A couple weeks ago, I was reading an article in The Economist on that very subject. It describes how network analysis of chauffeur drivers was used to narrow in on the location of Saddam Hussein in his 2003 capture. Terrorists organizations can be widely decentralized and difficult to track down, but certain members in the network have identifiable patterns. In this case, the chauffeurs were a limited resource and frequently interacting with many parts of the network. By tracking their movements, the intelligence agencies were able to hone in on a select few potential locations of Hussein… ultimately resulting in his capture. In theory, the same rules apply for supply chain. If the network is a system of demand influencers, such as price, features, channel, color, etc, then one could use the wisdom of the masses to understand what combination of those factors would sell best. Sensing demand. And social media platforms provide the forum, technology and populations to do this.
That same article described another benefit of network analysis in the important role of network influencers. Super users, early adopters, experts… the popular kids. What if you capture their demand first? It could lead to a waterfall of follow-on demand from others. Social network analysis can help you identify these people and, apparently, telecoms companies are already leveraging the power of these select few. Give them the newest technology first and they’ll naturally bring along others, exponentially. Shaping demand.
So the question remains, can companies use social media to sense and shape demand to improve supply chain? The key to doing so would be to find areas where social media provides demand insights that can be used to improve performance as well as areas where companies can influence purchase decisions. I’ve seen some creative forays in this realm. And in the best cases, users don’t even notice the sensing and shaping actions. For example, a YouTube contest I saw… The idea was that whoever could make the best commercial would win a prize. A mild product connection was obviously required… but this was secondary. Supply chain implications: based on the submissions, a company could have insights into how the product was perceived, the demographics of those who submitted and general interest in the product. Then, based on their selection of the winners, the company could shape the perception of the product and, essentially, influence sales. All for a minor cost of the prize.
But so far, these examples are all, shall we say, supply chain adjacent. Supply chain leaders will use demand insights to orchestrate their environment. Both into the sales channel as well as back to their suppliers. Examples of this capability are still few and far between in traditional supply chain, let alone through social media. Will companies ever use a social media platform to manage factory capacity or expedite raw material shipments? That remains to be seen. But I am seeing where social media helps bridge the functional divide between the demand drivers (sales and marketing) and supply chain responders. As demand requirements from customers are better understood, the first question asked is often, “how are we going to do this?” And that connects the demand sensing to the supply chain execution.
So what do you think? Is social media in supply chain science fiction? Is it a fad? Or is there some definitive value for supply chain and demand management?
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Category: Demand Sensing and Shaping Digital Supply Chain Tags: Demand Sensing and Shaping, Digital Suppy Chain, Social Media, Social Network Analysis, Supply Chain
