New Research Report: The Future of Supply Chain is Networked Platforms

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Today I want to direct your attention to a really interesting report from ChainLink Research, “Network Platforms–Solutions for Multi-Party Inter-Enterprise Processes“.

The report explores a phenomenon that readers of this blog will definitely recognize–the rise of “many-to-many” cloud platforms that enable trading partners to securely and easily work together to satisfy consumer demand . If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s similar to social networks like Facebook and Linked In, but for large enterprises with globally outsourced supply chains. See below for a visual explanation….

There are significant differences between these networked platforms and traditional enterprise SaaS applications, including connectivity, on-boarding, the data model, security model, integration, and transaction management. And these differences lead to several key advantages for the companies that choose to join these networks.

I’ll write more about these advantages in future posts (the report is worth unpacking in detail), but in the meantime you can read the whole thing here.

If you’re interested in networked platforms, I also suggest you read the whitepaper, Supply Chain’s New World Order”, which discusses cloud platforms, S&OP, and why a holistic approach is needed for supply chain management.

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Aaron Pittman

Aaron is former Corporate Counsel/Director of Marketing at One Network Enterprises,A lawyer by training, heprovides practical advice regarding regulatory, compliance, and transactional matters, and also leads global marketing and communications activities including content, messaging, and analyst and press relations. He holds degrees from Vanderbilt University and the University of Michigan Law School.