10 Predictions for Brand-Oriented Manufacturers
Brand-oriented Value Chains (BOVC) are characterized by branded products that serve consumer markets, and are most challenged by managing highly variable demand and aligning that demand with relatively steady supply. BOVC includes the following sub-segments: Food & Beverage, Footwear & Apparel, Health & Beauty, Household Care, Toys, Sporting Goods and Tobacco Products.
IDC Manufacturing Insights spoke with technology vendors, consultants, and buyers about what 2012 will hold for Brand-Oriented Value Chain (BOVC) manufacturing supply chain organizations. The result is our 10 predictions for 2012. The predictions reflect a mixture of supply chain, product lifecycle management, operations technology, IT, and emerging agenda topics:
- Brand-Oriented Manufacturers Embrace Intelligent Innovation as a Way to Redefine the Relationship with the Consumer
- Brand-Oriented Manufacturers Will Focus on Clock-Speed Alignment Across the Supply and Demand Sides of Their Supply Chains
- The Requirement for Speed and the Ubiquity of Information Will Create a New Landscape for IT Support of the Brand-Oriented Manufacturer's Supply Chain
- Big Data Will Create an Even Bigger Data Quality Problem for Brand-Oriented Manufacturers
- Brand-Oriented Manufacturers Will Get Serious About New Product Development and Introduction with the Adoption of PLM Tools and a Focus on Clear Internal Business Process
- Brand-Oriented Manufacturers Will Focus their Operational Strategies on Capabilities rather than Capacity
- “Design Anywhere, Build Anywhere, Sell Anywhere” Will Require the Global Plant Floor for Brand-Oriented Manufacturers
- Brand-Oriented Manufacturers Will Sort Out What Social Business Means for them in the Short Term with a Focus on the End Consumer
- Brand-Oriented Manufacturers Will Focus on Fulfillment Excellence as Service Performance Grows in Importance in a Consumer -Centric Marketplace
- Cloud Applications for Brand-Oriented Manufacturers Will Move from a Total-Cost-of-Ownership Focus to a Total-Value-in-Ownership Focus
BOVC manufacturing sub-segments have been dealing with consumers that are trading down to more affordable products, while retail partners increase their private label mix and ask manufacturers to take more responsibility for fulfillment execution. Investment will focus on creating better demand signal reliability while opening innovation to the entire community including suppliers and customers. Companies will look to build decision support environments that move toward integrated demand intelligence. At the same time, Brand-oriented organizations have been taking and will continue to take a targeted approach to IT investment priorities and capability development, while attempting to better manage the complexity inherent to their business.