Apr 4, 2022 | Blog

The Shift from Supply Chains to Supply Networks

In the 40 years since the term, “Supply Chain” was coined the nature of supply chains and how they operate has slowly been shifting.

Supply chains used to be very linear, often making use of only one or two dedicated service providers at every link in the chain.

Over the years we have seen this change with companies adding more service providers, manufacturers, etc. in order to accompany the varying demand of the growing global market.

A new term was coined, “Demand Response Network” and it describes the, “Supply Chains” of today much more accurately. We have moved away from the old, “Chain” and find ourselves firmly in a growing global network of manufacturers, transporters and other service providers.

The shift towards network thinking has enabled us to contend with the challenges of varying demand, unforeseen disruptions such as raw material shortages and even a worldwide pandemic.

The future of the supply chain is not linear, it’s a decentralised network growing on a global scale and it’s already here.

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