...how will you respond?
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – whose mission it is to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices – asked Amazon, Walmart, Kroger and six other retailers to produce data regarding supply chain bottlenecks, and ordered the data request (which means you must comply) within its charter. The FTC is looking for: shortages, supply chain bottlenecks, and anti-competitive behavior that leads to inflation. Clearly this is an Executive Branch response to rising inflation and product shortages that negatively affect our economy and GDP.
Regardless, I find this query very interesting for many reasons, not least of which is most companies could not respond. A recent McKinsey survey shows 98% of companies have NO VISIBILITY beyond their Tier 2 suppliers. This IS NOT a time to be part of the majority.
Assuming we’ve arrived at a new normal, I’ll ask again: how, and how fast, will your company respond to the ordered data request? With a commercial transparency architecture and a system of evidence, you could respond quickly and easily. In many industries you will have no choice.