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!

Anena Flavia was wrongfully accused and after one year and seven months in Gulu Main Prison she was released. After her recruitment in Bits, she was able to forgive the people who imprisoned her on baseless accusations. She started growing spiritually and started to embrace positively. Laker Kevin feels like everyday her work is valuable. She grew up in a difficult way, but her life is changed. After her first paycheck from 31 Bits she was so happy she couldn’t even walk. She sat under a tree and kept opening and closing her purse to see if the money was there. Every product has a story – and the company 31 Bits is using social media to make their story transparent. Anena and Laker’s stories were featured on 31 Bits Instagram feed with so many other women and lives the company has changed. 31 bits is a company that not only makes their supply chain transparent, but they make it as important as the products they sell. Thirty one bits was started by five college friends who had an idea for a mission based business to help the artisans in Uganda by selling their necklaces that were made from bits of paper. Now, they are working with artisan communities throughout Uganda and Indonesia to bring unique and ethically made accessories and home goods. They care both about the how the products are made as well as the products themselves and of course the consumers who are purchasing them. Their company’s slogan reads, is “How its made that matters” and speaks volumes for their company.

The City of Dawson Creek, BC has a population of 14,245.  Dawson Creek is also referred to as Mile ‘0’ of the Alaska Highway.  The primary industries are agriculture, natural gas & oil and lastly tourism.  It is a delight to visit Dawson Creek.  It has a very artsy feel to it.  Vintage & Restoration Love is a shop reminds me of something I would see in St. Jacobs, Ontario.  It was a pleasant surprise to find it in a city close to Fort St. John.  It is an eclectic mix of vintage and new home décor items, upcycled furniture and restored furniture.  Natasha Lacourse, the owner promotes local artisans and her store also features delicious local and BC food items. Natasha is a great resource when you are working on a paint DIY.  If you have issues with your project talk to Natasha she will be pleased to help you.  Vintage & Restoration Love is a thriving business and I wondered how Natasha uses social media for supply chain management.

Social media is all about building relationships. The application of social media in businesses is easy to understand and to witness in areas of marketing and customers engagement. But how can businesses use social media to improve their supply chain? By amalgamating consumers’ relationships with supply chain management, McCormick Spice Company offers a way to use social media to improve the transparency of its processes and to differentiate itself from the competition. McCormick Canada (Club House) was created in 1883 as Dyson & Co in London, Ontario. The company was acquired in 1959 by McCormick & Co from Baltimore, Maryland USA. Since its humble beginnings, McCormick Canada has grown to be one of the most well-known food company in the country. “Open any pantry or cupboard in any kitchen in Canada, and you’ll likely find a variety of our products, whether it be the spices for Grandma’s cookie recipe or the seasonings that add flair to your barbecue routine”. (source: McCormick Canada). The company is committed to pure flavour, which, in addition to the need to show consumers that McCormick herbs and spices offer a greater purity, has led to the Club House Pure Flavour Manifesto (source: McCormick Canada). The Manifesto is a multi-platform campaign, launched in 2016 that was created in part in reaction to the oregano ‘food fraud’.

Google is the number one internet search engine use worldwide, even to the point of becoming a verb for searching information online. Anything you could possibly think of is available at your fingertips, whether it’s information regarding research, looking for recipes or images, to locating and identifying nearby businesses.

Today’s marketplace is highly competitive. In order to differentiate themselves and stay ahead of the competition, companies must think of innovative ways to streamline their operations, increase efficiencies, and optimize productivity. One such aspect of achieving greater efficiency is through good supply chain management practices. Not super sexy, but super important, supply chains and supply chain management are topics that your business should be constantly evaluating!

With over 3000 Americans dying each year from food borne diseases and 128, 000 being hospitalized,  keeping the fresh food supply safe is an enormous challenge. Verizon Enterprise has taken the initiative to bring light to the issue of food safety, as well as the current technical and process challenges that continue to impact humans and our fresh food supply. The issue is so large, that to put it in pure economic terms, the USDA estimates the amount of food loss in the U.S. alone each year totals more than $161B.  And the industry simply accepts these losses as the cost of doing business. Verizon became involved in sensor and tracking technology a couple of years ago when they sat down with healthcare customer and asked them how they could help them be more efficient and effective with their business. They started to hear recurring themes in the pharmaceutical space about needing to be able to track in real time shipments of medicines that are compliant with the federal government regulations. They wanted to know the progress, the location, the temperature and a variety of other information that is required as they ship product around the US. They realized they were uniquely positioned to get involved with asset tracking in a bigger way. The soon translated these learnings from Pharma to food by talking to fisherman who were losing money because so many different people were involved with the farm-to-fork delivery of their product. Food quality is important, but if something happens to the fish during transit, the fishermen get blamed. Fishermen were looking for ways to protect the quality of what they deliver. Verizon understands the importance of tracking the temperature of fish from its catch to either the restaurant or retailer. Temperature control of fresh seafood (or any other perishable) is critically important for food safety. In fact, researchers have found that one of the largest challenges associated with food safety and food waste is related to controlling and monitoring the consistency of food temperatures throughout the cold chain.

Throughout FIFA’s divisions, I believe that FIFA has created the most significant collaboration between two of its departments such as Marketing, and Communications & Public Affairs Division. Each department is in charge of developing different aspects of FIFA’s goals. FIFA’s most important goals are; creating opportunities for fan engagement, providing best experiences for fans, players and all stakeholders at events, providing up-to-date information on game time, scores, and ticket information. FIFA accomplishes this through FIFA’s web site, FIFA’s App, and all Social Media channels. Marketing at FIFA consists of many sub-divisions that include Brand & Marketing Communication, FIFA Marketing Russia, FIFA Quality Concept, Hospitality, Licensing, Marketing Alliances, Marketing Event Management, Production, Sales, Strategic Development and Ticketing. FIFA’s Marketing is committed to providing sponsors with “right packages”, promoting events to fuel fan excitement at host nations, managing premium hospitality events, creating innovative and tailor made marketing programs enhancing fan experiences, managing brand identity at FIFA and events. Communications & Public Affairs Division handles public relations, internal communications, and FIFA weekly magazine. FIFA’s digital department is in charge of FIFA.com, social media platforms, FIFA app, and video content through FIFA TV. The digital department is also in charge of the storage of data, photographs and documents. FIFA’s media department handles the communication to the media and media facility services for FIFA events. FIFA’s public affairs department handles the communication, relations and engagement with public, authorities and policymakers. FIFA has established a group to develop a comprehensive mobile and digital strategy designed to improve engagement with FIFA’s stakeholders. The work was built upon FIFA’s established platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and the FIFA app, which was downloaded 30 million times around the FIFA World Cup 2014. I wonder how many times the FIFA app will be downloaded in the 2018 World Cup in Russia? In order to watch the video, FIFA has granted permission via YouTube

Most people consider social media to be platforms for dialogue between themselves and their closest friends and favourite social influencers. Of course, marketers and organizations use social media to promote products and brands, communicate with customers, and gather data from their target audience. It’s not surprising that discussions involving the application of social medias rarely focus on supply chain and distribution implications; however, this function within a business and between businesses can benefit almost infinitely from a strong network of social media and communication platforms. Many companies are beginning to look to other areas of their business to either cut costs or earn more income, and their supply chain has become an increasingly popular source for such activity. One company capitalizing on this newfound value centre is SDVI, a resource management company that helps media and entertainment companies organize their data and information supply chain to improve the agility and efficiency of their media infrastructures (Market Wired, 2016).  

Creating a supply chain that is both efficient and properly managed can be difficult. Between ensuring visibility across channels, product development, customer service and accurate inventory management, maximizing the performance of a company’s entire supply chain can be complicated. For a company like Ryder, though, supply chain management is what the company excels at. Ryder is a Fortune 500® commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation and supply chain solutions company. With over 50,000 customers, Ryder boasts a 99% on-time delivery rate, 80+ years of experience and a fleet of more than 230,000. Ryder has been recognized for its industry-leading practices in third-party logistics, environmentally friendly fleet and supply chain solutions, and world-class safety and security programs.

“There aren’t many organizations globally that source their raw material from their friends and neighbours.” That was how Dr. Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services (CBS) opened his remarks during the Queen’s Health Policy Change Conference Series in Toronto last summer. CBS manages the national supply of blood, blood products and stem cells, and related services for all the provinces and territories (excluding Quebec). It may seem odd to classify blood as a raw material to be processed, but that’s exactly what it is. And in 2016, those friends and neighbours Sher mentioned supplied more than 1.2 million units of these products. But reaching that level isn’t easy, given that one in every two Canadians is able to donate, but only one in sixty actually does. And every year, almost 40% of donors stop giving due to changing eligibility requirements, attrition and other reasons. With a relatively small pool of ‘suppliers’, every donation counts and every missed or cancelled appointment is a lost opportunity to not only replenish the supply of blood products, but to provide vital data that helps hospitals determine inventories, schedule procedures and ensure an adequate supply of products for emergency use. Social media campaigns have been used in various industries, from pizza producers to newspaper publishers, to collect data and improve supply chain efficiency. In this case, CBS uses data gathered from social  and other digital tools to guide its recruitment and retention campaigns.

Adidas’ and FIFA’s relationship dates back 47years, and since 1970 Adidas has been supplying the official match ball for all FIFA World Cup™ matches. The partnership was recently extended until 2030 granting adidas the Official Partner, Supplier and Licensee rights for the FIFA World Cup™ and all FIFA events until 2030. The announcement was made during a ceremony in Moscow by Thierry Weil, FIFA Marketing Director and Herbert Hainer, Adidas Group CEO. Adidas wants to preserve its position as the number one seller of soccer gear worldwide. In 2010 Adidas, was the first and only outfitter and licensee to disclose the list of suppliers/factories involved with the production of World Cup products of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Adidas Supply Chain Structure Adidas is currently outsourcing most of the production to more than 1,000 independent factories from around the world. Adidas products are manufactured in 63 countries and supply chain is global and multi-layered with different types of business partners, some are directly contracted factories, while others are not. The top five countries per region and by number of supplier sites in 2016 were: The Americas (26%): United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and Mexico. Asia (64%): China, Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia and Japan. Europe, the Middle East and Africa (10%): Germany, Turkey, Italy, Spain and South Africa.  The Power of Social Media and Supply Chain Management Adidas has launched a #allin campaign on Twitter. The official World Cup 2014 soccer ball named the Brazuca was given its own Twitter handle (@brazuca) generating over 139,000 followers. The Adidas Football YouTube channel has 350,000 subscribers and is host to various videos showcasing Lionel Messi, featuring the new Battle Pack cleats that were launched in conjunction with World Cup content. One of the videos features the Brazuca that was fitted with cameras into the ball that was sent on a World Journey. In 2014 World Cup in Brazil the Adidas football Facebook page had over 17 million likes, containing pictures promotions, video links. Some of the promotions included signed soccer balls by designated players that could be won by customers by following Adidas soccer related Twitter accounts. This was a way for Adidas to connect to their customer base, fans and anyone interested in Soccer. Adidas is using Social Media to Improve Supply Chain Management The Sports Retail Industry is a highly competitive market and it is very important for companies to… Read more »

It’s the wold’s most valuable sports brand. And it all began when founder Phil Knight decided to start selling track shoes out of the trunk of his car in 1976. Today, Nike is a global athletic shoe and apparel juggernaut, with a brand value of nearly $15 billion U.S. But a string of public controversies in the 1990s and early 2000s over the working conditions at some of Nike’s factories around the world threatened to derail close to 20 years of brand building in one fell swoop. Allegations of child labour, poor wages and dangerous working conditions at various locations in its global supply chain triggered widespread protests and seriously threatened Nike’s very existence. And while the company initially denied any claims of wrongdoing, further damaging its reputation, it eventually responded with humility and transparency. Today, Nike makes its supply chain practices transparent and available online and uses social media in various forms to actively listen to and engage with its stakeholders in order to influence where and how its products are designed and manufactured – all critical elements of effective, and modern, supply chain management.

Innovation is the hallmark of internet startups. When Karl Seibrecht co-founded Flexe, a company that many call the Airbnb of warehouses, he had recognized a problem for many companies and came up with an innovative solution. Clients of Flexe can add empty warehouse space that they may have to a registry and clients looking for space can search to find a good match. This is very similar to the Airbnb model of people renting out their spare room or their house on a short-term basis. Karl Seibrecht commented to Fortune.com, “At any given moment there are many, many businesses out there that have too much space, while other businesses don’t have enough.” (Morris, 2015)

The management of the flow of goods and services is what is referred to as supply chain management. According to Margaret Rouse at TechTarget, Supply Chain Management is defined as “Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies.” Supply chain management occurs in both product companies and service industries.

Sports brings people together. It moves and inspires people in ways that can sometimes be hard to explain. The sacrifice can never be put into words or understood unless you’ve personally gone through it yourself. But yet, regardless of your participation or not, sports can bring a nation together. It can bring us to our knees and can instil a sense of pride. The raw talent, incredible dedication and sheer passion of watching someone give it their all is a great indicator that sport is much more than the result at the end of a race or a game, it tells the story of the incredible team behind-the-scenes that helps a team or individual propel to greatness.

There is no better feeling than having your skin hydrated, cared for and clean while using products that support a value, cause or lifestyle you align yourself with – organic, natural, environmentally friendly, cruelty-free, ethically responsible, or all of the above.

Few condiments hold a candle to this savory-sweet, palate-pleasing treat enjoyed by adults and children alike. Ketchup, your pairings are endless: eggs, bacon, bologna, hot dogs, fries, burgers, sausages, onion rings, grilled cheese, chicken fingers, fish sticks…alright maybe not endless. That’s getting pretty close to an exhaustive list, as far as any self-respecting person can enumerate. Yes, this powerful condiment possesses an innate ability to make-or-break your summer BBQ. And it recently showed off some of its unique power to rally social media supporters in a very surprising way. Canadian Connoisseurs Speak Up In March 2016, Loblaws decided to pull French’s ketchup from its shelves without warning, inciting a viral backlash demanding Loblaws re-list the item. The sense of importance associated with this particular product most likely stems from its local origins. French’s ketchup is made with tomatoes grown here in Canada; Leamington, Ontario to be geographically precise. Thus it’s a source of national pride, of small-town Canadian jobs and, ultimately, of significance extending well beyond something squeezed from a bottle. This high level of engagement in the supply chain management process led Globe and Mail food columnist Sylvan Charlebois to declare in his Ketchup Wars opinion piece that “the politics of food distribution are alive and well in Canada”. Many speculated that unfair competitive practices among vendors may have had something to do with Loblaws’ decision to de-list the product. Finding evidence to support this theory is challenging. However, the ketchup story illustrates how the complexities of food retailing are increasingly intermingling with unexpected social media uprisings.  

Recognizing social media is so much more then Twitter, Facebook or an online forum, I took my question to Professor Peter Carr of the University of Waterloo to understand what social media really is defined as; he noted: “There isn’t a generally accepted definition and opinions probably include narrow, which would be restricted to popular public tools (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and broader, including any form of online communications (email, Yammer, SharePoint etc.). I use the broader approach, any online communication between two or more people could be included.” Understanding Carr’s definition on social media, we can really look into how might social media fit into companies – and in what realms? Specifically for the topic of this post, how does social media fit into supply chain? From course material in my Social Media for Business Performance at the University of Waterloo, it is discussed that there are a variety applications for social media in the supply chain, but there are a few I really want to focus on that I find make an interesting case study: visibility, stakeholders and purchasing.

Climate change and environmental accountability are both hot topics in the 21st century. More and more people are becoming concerned about the products they buy and what impact on the climate their production has. It has been reported that also more businesses are increasingly taking environmental performance into account when selecting suppliers. In July 2009, Wal-Mart announced its intention to create a global sustainability index system to keep track of products ratings according to the environmental and social impacts of their manufacturing and distribution. The motivation behind the index is to create environmental accountability in Wal-Mart’s supply chain and to encourage other retail companies to do the same. Wal-mart Stores, Inc., doing business as simply Walmart, is an American multinational retailing corporation that operates as a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. As of January 31, 2017, Walmart has 11,695 stores and clubs in 28 countries. Walmart is the world’s largest company by revenue – approximately $480 bln (2016), as well as the largest private employer in the world with 2.3 million employees. Walmart Canada has stores in every province and territory, except for Yukon and Nunavut. Walmart Canada has in total 410 stores (January, 31st, 2017).

Supply chain management (SCM) relies on, at its core, people talking to people.  Working with vendors, coordinating shipments and carriers, buying stock, fulfilling orders, maintaining inventory levels, forecasting what end users may be looking to purchase in the future – every step of the way involves communication between one party and another. “Social networking is not about socializing, but about facilitating people-to-people communication and collaboration, which is at the heart of managing and executing supply chain processes.”  “What is needed [in a dynamic business environment] is a supply chain of rapid response…Many people who work in the materials business [and] talk about supply chains and the speed of supply chains [have historically] thought about systems talking to systems across enterprises and about processes. But in reality, the speed of the chain is not really related to the systems used by the various companies—it’s all about people, and people talking to people”

At FlashStock, operational efficiency is key to the growth and success of the company. Our core product is custom images and videos taken by our network of global contributors which is delivered to brands around the world through our machine learning technology. Even with this automation, we need to ensure that the customer is properly managed throughout the customer lifecycle. Having better insight into the process, through the collection and use of data, allows FlashStock to scale resources as needed for all client project sizes, effectively manage the pipeline of business, and ensure the proper management of those resources for optimal productivity. Some say having a well-oiled supply chain is a key competitive advantage. FlashStock views the supply chain as key for tracking and measuring that we are going above and beyond for our clients delivering what we promised.

Budget Marine is the Caribbean’s leading marine chandlery with retail locations throughout the Caribbean.  In the Caribbean, most people use social media to let friends and family know where their latest landfall is, and for obtaining information through cruisers’ nets. Using social media as a tool to improve business performance is a new concept.  However, for companies like Budget Marine, it opens up vast new opportunities.  People may not think of the Caribbean when they think of “multinational companies,” but that is exactly what Budget Marine is.

On-line retailers have been commanding a higher share of Canadian retail spending every year. The trend is largely driven by convenience (e.g., home delivery), wider assortment (due to absence of physical shelf space) and opportunities for consumers to use social media to share their opinions about their experiences with the product. Amazon.com and its Canadian web-site, Amazon.ca,  are  great examples of successfully capitalizing on the above trends to provide the best in class on-line shopping experience. Amazon has become the largest on-line retailer in North America, selling over 480 million products in the USA and 133 million in Canada.

Watsi is a non-profit crowdsourcing platform that enables anyone to fund life-changing medical procedures for patients in developing countries who might not otherwise have access to healthcare. At the time this case study was written, 22,102 Watsi donors had funded healthcare for 11,559 patients in 25 countries. Patients waiting to be fully funded included Vehn, a farmer from Cambodia who needs a hip replacement, Olga, a single mother from Guatemala who needs treatment for diabetes, and Dah Htoo, a 2 year old boy from Burma who needs surgery to repair burn damage. When Watsi founder Chase Adam was a Peace Corps volunteer, he was traveling through a small town in Costa Rica when a woman boarded the bus. Her son required medical treatment she could not afford; she showed his medical records and asked passengers for money to help pay for his treatment. The town was called Watsi and the idea of developing a platform to crowdsource funding for vital health care in developing countries was born. Soon after the platform launched, the idea gained traction on Hacker News, and eventually led to Watsi being the first non-profit startup funded and accelerated by Y Combinator.