The convergence of social and demographic trends, consumer behavior and new technologies such as blockchain, mobility and various aspects of the "cloud" are continually reshaping mission-critical business areas across industries and the supply chain does not. exception. "While historically successful supply chains have managed risk and were resilient in the face of adversity, the operating climate filled with innovation and disruption has changed and" throwing punches "and adhering to the status quo is no longer viable; in fact, doing it is a death knell, ”warns Bristlecone CEO Irfan A. Khan.

This menacing and stern warning from Khan is well established, given his pedigree as a market change agent revered for driving business transformation and driving customer-centric turnaround growth strategies in a multitude of environments. Below, Khan provides more in-depth information on ways companies can protect themselves from inevitable future uncertainties.

"For starters, it's important to understand that today's market disruption goes far beyond systems or technology; it's a global paradigm shift ... holistic, global shifts that affect every single aspect of a trade, be it. internal or external, "he notes. "To succeed in this volatile environment and even turn adversity into opportunity, target a key area that is chronically neglected: the supply chain. Not only do they need to be more resilient, but modern supply chains need to be" unbreakable. " to support evolving cash flows and guarantee the revenues of tomorrow ".
Antifragility, a term coined by risk analyst Nassim Taleb, is the idea that instead of simply trying to prevent or survive unexpected and unpredictable events, called black swans, organizations must implement systems and strategies so that they can benefit of these disruptions and in so doing, move ahead of the competition. In other words, it's not so much survival of the fittest as market-leading success for the smartest.

According to Taleb, a black swan has three identifying attributes. “First, it is an outlier, as it lies outside the realm of regular expectations, because nothing in the past can convincingly indicate its possibility. Secondly, it has an extreme impact…. Third, despite its anomalous status, human nature makes us invent explanations for its occurrence after the fact, making it explainable and predictable. "This covers everything from extreme weather events and environmental disasters to political upheavals and the suddenly economy. it's filling up.

By expanding Taleb's notion of antifragility, Khan effectively introduced the extrapolated concept of "customer-centric antifragility" to better help organizations achieve the truest form of antifragility and, in turn, better ensure the success of their organizations. Khan explains, "Systems are fragile when organizations are not prepared to handle changing conditions. We cannot predict these major shocks, but we can work to reduce fragility within systems. Customer-centric antifragility, in particular, does not. it will only prepare your supply chain for when, not if, disaster strikes, it will also prepare your supply chain for a future that we know will inevitably be uncertain.

"Customer-centric antifragility is the idea that, rather than just preventing or surviving an unexpected and unpredictable event, companies need to implement systems and strategies that minimize the impact on their customers while enabling the company to actually benefit from those same interruptions, "Khan continued. “This facilitates a deeper affinity with customers and sets the company apart from the competition. If an organization maintains a customer-centric approach with its antifragile systems, the company will reap the rewards because there is no better way to build and strengthen a brand than through greater trust. "
Khan also provides strategies to help supply chain professionals and business leaders achieve true antifragility, founded on the belief that those who are the most proactive will have the best chance of achieving the kind of customer-centric antifragility that has real impact. “Instead of adopting a defensive posture or always being reactive, we have to stay on the offensive. It is a daily race. “Here are five approaches he believes are critical to developing an antifragile system and maintaining the mindset for supply chain innovation success.
Stop trying to achieve resilience; be resilient. It is what sets leaders apart.
Seeing certainty in complexity will provide clarity and focus.
Compete against yourself; don't worry about what your competitor is doing.
Have evolving goals to keep up with ever-changing technology, best practices and operations. Don't get stagnant.
Settle for only 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 troubled times are among the topics addressed at Bristlecone's annual Pulse conferences held every October at MIT. At this event, academics and supply chain leaders discuss how innovation is shaping supply chains globally, share knowledge about the future of the supply chain, and discuss platform and service transformation. Participating companies include Toshiba, Sleep Number, Varex and Corning; MIT speakers include author Neil Gershenfeld (Third Digital Revolution), Ron Spangler, Suzanne Greene, and industry analyst Pierre Mitchell.

In the spirit of "persistent proactivity" as Khan claims, his company has also developed and launched a new antifragility index that helps organizations measure and predict supply chain vulnerabilities and operational readiness. "Instead of exposing your system to disruptive events by taking advantage of Index A, you can run the analysis ahead of time and be prepared for when system shocks actually 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 urges, the entire industry must remain proactive and alert to continually evolve supply chains in order to be successful in our uncertain and ever-changing world.