Reuters Events | Supply Chain & Logistics Business Intelligence

‘Supply Chains Darlings’ – the companies that tend to dominate the headlines of the supply chain world every-so-often for their innovative thinking, and re-imagination of the industry. Here’s part 3 in our series.

eft is going to attempt to chronicle ‘Supply Chains Darlings’ – you know, the companies that tend to dominate the headlines of the supply chain world every-so-often for their innovative thinking, and re-imagination of the industry. The idea behind doing this is to revisit some of the reasons why supply chains have grabbed headlines and to imagine what companies might be gracing headlines over the next decade. Over the next 2 weeks, we’re going to release articles looking at 6 supply chains that have grabbed the headlines in the supply chain world over the last decade or so, and arguably changed the industry for good.

To help launch the discussion, we’ll be announcing each subsequent selection over twitter over the next 2 Fridays on - @eyefortransport. We’ll be using the hashtag - #SupplyChainDarling to help facilitate the debate on each!

6) Dell

5) eBay 

4) Apple

3) Amazon

2) October 18

1) October 25

1994-2001/2012-13: Amazon

One of the threads so far in Supply Chain Darlings has been disintermediation and it is Amazon that has perhaps been one of the biggest purveyors of this. Moving from online bookstore to general retailer, Amazon’s growth came to embody logistics to such a degree they’ve been labeled by some as a 4PL. However, running on 1% margins, and failing to post a profit in recent time, Amazon has caused some concern for the viability of cutting-edge logistics long-term. Still considered a ‘work in progress’, the company continues to invest heavily in new business areas and to tweak its business model. It is perhaps the company’s ability to embrace technology while mastering the warehousing and distribution game that have most put them on our radars. In fact the company’s forward-looking vision combined with its master of supply chain processes has led many industry analysts to surmise that Amazon could be the next big logistics company. Enter ‘drone delivery’ – PR Buzz or the real deal? It certainly made headlines for supply chain analysts, from drone ships to driverless vehicles. Whether or not it’ll come true, it has helped usher in an era in supply chain and logistics dominated by key words ‘innovation’, ‘technology’ and ‘game changer’. With competition on the horizon, it will be interesting to see whether Amazon is capable of holding on to its headline-grabbing supply chain status.

Why did Amazon dominate our supply chain headlines?

1) It showed us how the distribution network of a supply chain was done and how to cater to retailers en-masse

2) it made the logistics industry tremble with its ‘4PL’ capabilities

3) it dared to imagine drone delivery

Share your thoughts with @eyefortransport – would you consider Apple a #SupplyChainDarling?