I don't think you need me to remind you that the retail supply chain has pretty much come to halt.

It's a system that prior to this crisis was already somewhat over stretched and relying on analog processes, systems, along with environmental issues to deal with in order to keep the supply machine going.

As with several key innovations around social media being led by China it now seems that the traditional supply chain is now moving towards the realities of operating in an agile digitally savvy 21st Century.

China is inching further forward in the battle to create the supply chain of the future. The latest advancement comes with the announcement that e-commerce giant JD.com has made a strategic investment of $100 million in one of Asia’s oldest supply chain management companies, Li & Fung.

Despite rising US tensions and the pandemic’s impact on an already disrupted retail sector, the execution of this latest coterie by Li & Fung is a perfect example of why China is winning right now: traditional companies are unafraid to seamlessly integrate digital into their core infrastructure. (link below)

Given that the industry has become even more bloated as a result of this pandemic with factories and warehouses stuck with  goods that were destined for global retailers and others with the equivalent of an EU wine lake, is this yet another example of how the surge towards greater take up and innovation with digital?.

As manufacturers and brands look to move deeper into the direct to consumer sector my guess is it (supply chain) will require a far more agile, sustainable and environmentally friendly solution that can better serve  'one to few' model, as opposed to one to many solution to accommodate this huge shift in opportunity and behaviour. 

One for my supply chain peers to cogitate on perhaps?