THE LETTER FROM FRANCE SUPPLY CHAIN #13 - April 2022

In an increasingly competitive environment and an accelerated pace of technological and regulatory innovation, anticipating future developments is strategic for supply chain players. 

There are three obstacles to this.

The first is knowledge. Professionals have their heads in the sand and don't know where to start as the field of innovations has expanded so much: from the challenges of the energy transition to the evolution of urban distribution modes, from autonomous robots to the digitalisation of the supply chain, the subjects are vast and monitoring is therefore essential.

Secondly, it is not enough to detect an innovation, it is also necessary to define the right timing. You hear about RFID, blockchain or 5G, but beyond the fashion effect, is the theme sufficiently mature to invest and mobilise resources?

Finally, which operators can act on these issues? The operational phase must be secured. There is no point in making plans when you are working just-in-time!

Moreover, our organisations are often risk-averse for innovation. If they fail, are they prepared to compromise their career plans? Is management prepared to support this risk-taking?

For this reason, Open Innovation allows a company to think about its innovation and R&D by integrating external collaborations, through companies, partners and startups. Because the problems are multidimensional. For example, last-mile delivery involves regulatory issues, pollution, changes in business practices and technology.

Monolithic approaches are no longer enough: the chakras must be opened and exchanged together!

Start-ups have their place. Three criteria are used to select them.

1. They have to respond to a frustration that they have identified and qualified perfectly.

2. Provide a simple answer for the user.

3. Be able to deploy it on a large scale (scalability).

Delivery Academy, the startup that trains last-mile delivery drivers, is a prime example:

The frustration? Urban delivery is not always in line with a company's brand image. The job of delivery driver is devalued, which leads to recruitment problems;

The answer? To offer training courses, paid for by public bodies, which can be adapted to the needs of these companies and which provide a label guaranteeing a better customer experience;

Finally, this training can be provided on a large scale.

For robots, human resources or data, the equation of pragmatic innovation is the same. In order to help the Supply Chain actors in this prospective logic, SprintProject will have the pleasure to animate an exchange session between startups of its ecosystem and the members of France Supply Chain, on June 17th during the Supply Chain Day