Supply chain News and trends

Every business that deals with moving products from one place to another has to deal with challenges in shipping and logistics. Startups are often the most vulnerable to complications in this part of their business, which can ultimately drain resources and upset customers.

In Gartner's four-stage maturity model, we call the most mature companies — the ones in Stage 4 — "orchestrators." Not many are here, though. In fact, what we see most often is pockets of Stage 4 excellence.

Let's delve into this term "orchestration" and see what it really means in supply chain. According to dictionary.com, "orchestrate" means "to arrange or manipulate, especially by means of clever or thorough planning or maneuvering." Freedictionary.com defines it as "[arranging or controlling] the elements of, as to achieve a desired overall effect." Synonyms include organize, coordinate, facilitate, plan, mastermind, harmonize, symphonize, integrate, compose, balance and unity. However, most companies are still in Stage 2, and the realization of these characteristics is still only aspirational.