The Role of Social Media in the Supply Chain

It isn’t a secret that social media has rapidly grown in importance to the enterprise, despite its initial launch aimed at the average consumer. What happens in this space, however, is that manufacturing executives too easily push this focus to the marketing department, assuming this is the logical destination in terms of customer acquisition and retention. If this is your only focus, however, you miss out on opportunities in the supply chain.

In reality, social media is impacting the manufacturing industry with a transformative force, enabling departments such as product development, sales, compliance management and customer support to leverage the available technologies to access intelligence. This intelligence is not only accurate and in real-time, but also actionable to bring real benefit to those operating in the supply chain.

While customer relationships are important, social media can extend throughout the entire supply chain to deliver real-world value. One example of profitable application is in product design and development. By moving traditional user groups and advisory panels online and integrating social media practices into the produce lifecycle, access to feedback and detailed requirements are more readily available.

Social media also allows you to hear what customers, prospects and other industry influencers are saying about your products and service in real time. This intelligence allows you to easily shift gears when your market standing is at risk. You can make those changes down the supply chain to ensure the end result is profitable change. Social media tools provide the visibility to ensure these changes are known and the perception of your company in the market is a positive one.