We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
Home » Attention, supply chain professionals: The world's problems cannot be solved without your help
Forward Thinking

Attention, supply chain professionals: The world's problems cannot be solved without your help

January 17, 2017
Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
No Comments

With their recent report "Mobilising the Supply Chain Community to Solve Global Challenges: Engaging the Private Sector," the research group SCM World and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have issued a call to action to members of the supply chain community.

The report suggests that the largest problems facing the world today—how to provide food and health care to all and how to make the world more environmentally sustainable—cannot be solved without help from supply chain experts. As David Sarley, senior program officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation writes in the foreword to the report, "While we are increasingly seeing the emergence of the technology, tools, and products needed to make a difference, we need a community of partners to implement and ensure these products are available at the last mile."

Report author Barry Blake, vice president of research for SCM World, argues that the foundation to solving these systemic problems is forming "shared value" collaborative partnerships among the private sector, the public sector (for example, development groups and nongovernmental organizations), and government. Blake borrows the term "Golden Triangle" from Coca-Cola Co., which uses it to describe these kinds of partnerships. These partnerships are necessary, according to Blake, because "no standalone organization has the resource capacity, the full suite of capabilities, or the means and motivation to independently tackle these challenges."

The private sector supply chain community does not have to be involved in these types of partnerships just out of the goodness of its heart, says Blake; there are also commercial reasons to be involved. These shared-value engagements can open up new markets, provide innovative research and development opportunities, and serve to develop the next-generation of supply chain leaders, he explains.

The report provides several case studies of shared-value partnerships. For example, Coca-Cola has set up 100 portable retail kiosks in rural villages across Africa. Made out of converted shipping containers, these stores also act as distribution centers as well as village centers, providing power, Internet connectivity, access to clean water, and refrigerated storage for vaccines and other medicines. Coca-Cola relied on government and nongovernmental organizations to provide information about local communities and how to tap into local manufacturing resources for the kiosks.

The report acknowledges that creating a shared-value collaborative partnership is not easy. To help organizations that are interested in organizing and participating in this type of initiative, it details the roles that each of the three parts of the Golden Triangle plays and identifies potential barriers to success, such as a lack of trust between the various groups. It also suggests next steps and outlines motivating factors.

The report can be downloaded from SCM World's website. The paper joins a pool of publications that emphasize the importance of public-private partnerships, including "Delivering in a Moving World" from the World Food Programme and "The Economic Development Role of Regional Logistics Hubs: A Cross-Country Study of Interorganizational Governance Models," by Yemisi A. Bolumole, David J. Closs, and Frederick A. Rodammer of Michigan State University, which won the Bernard J. La Londe Best Paper Award at CSCMP's 2016 Annual Conference.

Strategy
  • Related Articles

    Study highlights pharmaceutical supply chain problems

    Help select the most innovative supply chain project

    Report: Supply chain problems affecting nearly half of small businesses

Recent Articles by Supply Chain Quarterly Staff

BrightDrop delivers 150 electric parcel vans to FedEx network

Survey: 90% of procurement leaders will tweak operating models to cope with economic outlook

J.B. Hunt trials self-driving trucks in Texas pilot

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • How to resolve your inventory dilemma

  • Container prices continue to drop

  • Regionalized supply chains: the key to resilience

  • Warehouse vacancy rates sink to 27-year low

  • Empty shipping containers stack up at U.S. port depots

Featured Video

Cccb7d13 710a 4473 8132 da8b6cc286f1

The Sportsman's Guide Case study: Increasing Accuracy & Productivity

Viewer Contributed
Thanks to the Lucas Warehouse Optimization Suite, The Sportsman's Guide has increased productivity, reduced training time, and experienced a boost in accuracy for both full-time staff and seasonal employees. Want to learn how Lucas can help your DC be more efficient, accurate, and safe while reducing labor costs?...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Case Study: Peak Teams helps boost headcount quickly on a short-term project

  • Breaking Bad: Conducting Full Truckload RFPs in the Age of Digital Freight Procurement

  • Omnitracs One – Last Mile Solutions

  • The enterprise shipper's guide to building a smarter truckload RFP

View More

Subscribe to Supply Chain Quarterly

Get Your Subscription
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • E-NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2022. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing