Using Social Media in Supply Chain Management

Communication between an organization, its suppliers and stakeholders are an essential component to any business. Effective and efficient communication is what leads a company to reach its target goals and build a strong business to business relationship. According to TechTarget “Supply chain management (SCM) is the broad range of activities required to plan, control and execute a product’s flow, from acquiring raw materials and production through distribution to the final customer, in the most streamlined and cost-effective way possible.” Throughout the process many companies do not release any information to the consumer until the final product has been created. However in the modern age today with various social media platforms available throughout the world, Adidas and FIFA are using social media in supply chain manage to interact with not only its consumers, but all internal and external stakeholders of the company as well and have noticed positive results. Now as complicated as it sounds you may be wondering how did Adidas and FIFA use social media in supply chain management? Well read on to find more information!

Although Adidas and FIFA are two different organizations, they are known as one team when it comes to supplying the official match ball for all the FIFA World Cup matches. And yes, this specific ball that we are talking about is the soccer ball. Their history together started in 1970 and currently the partnership has been extended until 2030. As Adidas’s job here is to design and develop the final product (ball), they are the ones that are focused and play a bigger role in the supply chain of this process from beginning to end. Their effective use of social media for their supply chain consists of increased visibility, communication, and product development.

Visibility was increased by the use of sharing photos of the product development on various social media platforms through each and every stage. Internal and external users were able to monitor the status of this product development on a regular basis. This created a positive effect on the supply chain management by allowing all users to understand and keep up with the supply chain activities during the entire process. Instead of users having to wait for the entire product to be completed, they were able to track the progress. This also created awareness of the product which enables better customer service production processes.

The second factor of increased communication correlates with the visibility aspect. This is because as Adidas was showcasing its products progress on an online platform with the use of social media, they were able to increase communication with external and internal stakeholders which include users, employees, fans, and customers by allowing them to not only just view pictures of the production of the official match ball, but be able to share, comment, and likes the posts. This is an example of effective communication during the supply chain process between the organization and its users where the organization is able improve supply chain management through the use of social media.

Moving forward to considering product development, Adidas was able to create an exceptional platform where sharing posts on social media enabled them to view the feedback from users and use that feedback to make changes, create improvements, and create a final product that stands out. The communications factor led to great product development during the supply chain management.

Lessons for Others

Overall, the use of social media has improved the supply chain management of Adidas and FIFA. It has enabled them to increase visibility, communication, and product development while reducing operational and labour costs. Many people do not consider that social media can be used for business purposes as well and to bring in great success into a company. However, Adidas and FIFA have proved that social media brings in great benefits in improving supply chain management.

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.

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