Supply Chain Game Changers—Mega,Nano, and Virtual Trends—And Forces That Impede Supply Chain Design (i.e., Building a Winning Team)

Strategic systems design is essential to structuring and governing a supply chain for competitive advantage. To effectively co‐create value, decision makers must manage the three rights of supply chain design: right players, right roles, and right relationships. Doing this well requires managers discern how the unwritten competitive rules are changing as well as determine firm readiness to compete. As part of this analysis, we briefly explore five emerging “game changers” that represent potential supply chain design inflection points: (1) Big Data and predictive analytics, (2) additive manufacturing, (3) autonomous vehicles, (4) materials science, and (5) borderless supply chains. We also consider four forces that impede transformation to higher levels of value co‐creation: (1) supply chain security, (2) failed change management, (3) lack of trust as a governance mechanism, and (4) poor understanding of the “luxury” nature of corporate social responsibility initiatives. How well managers address sociostructural and sociotechnical issues will determine firm survivability and success.