‘Flexibility is key in information age’

Agility and flexibility
provide the quickest path
to competitive advantage,
according to Abe Uys,
executive head of supply
chain services provider
Crossroads.
“What works today
won’t necessarily work
tomorrow,” he told FTW, “a
simple maxim that couldn’t
be more appropriate to
modern supply chains.”
We live in an
information age of
consumerism and
globalisation, he added.
Product lifecycles are
getting shorter, customers
are becoming evermore
savvy and fickle,
and demand cycles are
increasingly volatile.
“In modern supply
chains, outsourcing some
or all of the logistics
functions and then
optimising them can have
a tremendous impact on
the income statement and
balance sheet,” Uys said.
“It can also fundamentally
decrease risk profiles.
“Also, it should be
recognised that some
85% of potential logistics
savings come from
integrating the supply
chain.”
Another critical factor is
responsiveness, according
to Ken Light, executive
head of SkyNet, the
company’s courier/express
parcel division.
“Being able to respond
timeously and effectively
to fluctuating demand
helps to prevent lost sales,
and therefore contributes
to market share gains,”
Light added.