The convergence of social and demographic trends, consumer behavior, and new technologies such as blockchain, mobility and various facets of the 'cloud' are continually reshaping critical business areas across industries, and the supply chain is failing to reshape critical business areas. is no exception. “While historically successful supply chains have managed risk and been resilient in the face of adversity, the operating climate, marked by innovation and disruption, has changed and 'keep up with the punches' and embrace the status quo is no longer viable; in fact, it's a death knell, ”warns Irfan A. Khan, CEO of Bristlecone.

This ominous and stern warning from Khan is well established, given his pedigree as a revered market change agent to drive business transformation and drive customer-centric turnaround growth strategies in a multitude of cases. 'environments. Below, Khan provides a more detailed look at ways in which companies can protect themselves against inevitable future uncertainties.

“For starters, it's important to understand that today's market disruptions go far beyond systems or technology; this is a global paradigm shift… global and complete changes that affect every aspect of an operation, whether internal or external, ”he notes. “To succeed in this volatile environment and even turn adversity into opportunity, turn to a key area that is chronically neglected: the supply chain. Not only do they need to be more resilient, modern supply chains need to be "anti-fragile" to support evolving cash flows and secure the income of tomorrow. "

Antifragility, a term coined by risk analyst Nassim Taleb, is the idea that rather than just trying to prevent or survive unexpected and unpredictable events - called black swans - organizations should implement systems and strategies to take advantage of these disruptions and stay ahead of the competition in doing so. In other words, it's not so much about the survival of the fittest as it is about the market-leading success of the smartest.
According to Taleb, a black swan has three identifying attributes. “First, this is an outlier because it is outside the realm of regular expectation because nothing in the past can convincingly indicate its possibility. Second, it has an extreme impact…. Third, despite its aberrant status, human nature makes us concoct explanations for its afterthought, making it explainable and predictable. It covers everything from extreme weather events and environmental disasters to political upheaval and the sudden collapse of the economy.

In developing Taleb's notion of antifragility, Khan actually introduced the extrapolated concept of 'customer-centric antifragility' to better help organizations achieve the truest form of antifragility and, in turn, better secure the success of their organizations. Khan explains, “Systems are fragile when organizations are not prepared to deal with changing conditions. We cannot predict these major shocks, but we can work to reduce the fragility of systems. Customer-centric anti-fragility, in particular, will not only prepare your supply chain for disaster - not disaster, but it will also prepare your supply chain for a future we know will be. inevitably uncertain. "

“Customer-centric anti-fragility is the idea that, rather than simply preventing or surviving an unexpected and unpredictable event, companies must implement systems and strategies that minimize the impact on their customers while allowing for the company to truly benefit from these same disruptions, ”Khan continued. “This facilitates a deeper affinity with customers while also setting the company apart from its competitors. If an organization maintains a customer-centric approach with its antifragile systems, the business will reap the rewards as there is no better way to build and fortify a brand than through increased trust. "

Khan also offers strategies to help supply chain professionals and business leaders achieve true antifragility, based on his belief that those who are most proactive will have the best chance of achieving the type of antifragility. customer-centric that has real impact. “Instead of adopting a defensive posture or always being reactive, we have to stay on the offensive. It's a daily race. Here are five approaches he believes are essential to developing an anti-fragile system and maintaining the mindset of success in supply chain innovation.
Stop trying to achieve resilience; be resilient. This is what sets leaders apart.
Seeing the certainty of complexity will bring clarity and focus.
Confront yourself; don't worry about what your competitor is doing.
Have constantly evolving goals to keep pace with evolving technology, best practices, and operations. Don't stagnate.
Only settle for perfection, which is as fleeting as it is elusive, so maintaining it requires constant effort, constant improvement, and constantly staying on the offensive.

The importance of designing antifragile systems that thrive in difficult times is among the topics discussed at the annual Bristlecone Pulse Conferences held each October at MIT. At this event, academics and supply chain leaders discuss how innovation is shaping supply chains globally, share their knowledge about the future of the supply chain and discuss the transformation of the platform and services. Participating companies include Toshiba, Sleep Number, Varex and Corning; Speakers at MIT include author Neil Gershenfeld (Third Digital Revolution), Ron Spangler, Suzanne Greene and industry analyst Pierre Mitchell.

In a spirit of “persistent proactivity” as Khan advocates, his company also developed and launched a new anti-fragility index that helps organizations measure and forecast supply chain vulnerabilities and operational readiness. "Instead of your system being exposed to disruptive events, by leveraging the A-Index, you can perform the scan ahead of time and prepare for when system shocks occur."

And, according to Khan, rest assured those shocks will come. However, the above steps will help lay the foundation for a value network that thrives in times of uncertainty. As Khan himself asks, the entire industry must remain proactive and vigilant in continuously evolving supply chains in order to be successful in our uncertain and ever-changing world.
Read more: https://wheels.report/blogs/surprising-way-customer-centric-antifragility-helps-crypto/7796?utm_source=Media%207&utm_medium=Neethu