Over the past two decades, supply chain operations have become increasingly complex because of access to new markets, adoption of global sourcing/outsourcing strategies and increasing integration of global supply chains. To manage the increased complexity in global supply chains, there has been significant investment in information technology assets, which has delivered benefits in resource productivity, increased supply chain visibility and powerful decision making capabilities. Such large-scale transformation in the supply chain may be irreversible in the short term, but there is a need to see the impact of this transformation in a balanced manner so that associated changes in structure and processes are deployed judiciously.
Such large-scale transformation also means that enterprises need new capabilities to manage the complexity and fully exploit the opportunities that are presented. There are three key aspects of supply chain management capability that need particular emphasis in the context of managing supply chain complexity and sustained differentiation.
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