Discussion Thread: Current SCM Topics
Regine C. Rhine
School of Business, Liberty University
Background of the situation
Implementing social media in a corporation’s supply chain management activities can
have several benefits. Supply chains often include many vendors, suppliers, distribution centers
among other things. If a tool such as social media is incorporated in processes, corporations gain
the ability to discover trends within the industry and identify ways to make better decisions.
Research has revealed that 70% of the 1 billion users across social media are businesses who
engage in tactics to bring value to their corporation (Huang, et al., 2020).
Potential consequences/alternative responses
While using social media has many benefits and the lack of social media use may result
in lack awareness of their customers, suppliers, and competitors, there are many risks and
consequences to consider. One being the lack of content control that may be shared by customers
from an organization’s social media. This may lead to a potential breach of privacy, and can
become a disadvantage for a company’s position in the market place as other companies in the
industry see how they operate their supply chain management process (Tungande, et al., 2020).
Additionally, brand loyalty may be affected if an organization markets their products and
services in a way that does not reflect their true operations within the supply chain. A great
example of this is ensuring proper sustainability to benefit the economy, and maintain the loyalty
of customers who prioritize this practice. If the corporation’s social media posts reveal that they
do not practice proper sustainability, yet the concept is a key marketing strategy, it may yield to
losing loyal customers.
Proposed response
When using social media, companies can improve and increase communication with
customers, and improve market trend awareness, generate new ideas for improving their supply
chain, and solve problems by discovering what supply chain trading partners are doing. Social
media assists organizations in monitoring supply chain events and transactions resulting in
keeping teams updated on situations in the market, which may include shipping delays, or failed
communications with carriers (Liberty University, 2020). Organizations often use social media
platforms such as Facebook, and YouTube but Twitter has the most active percentage at 70%
(Huang, et al., 2020). Messages on twitter allow organizations to determine the arrival or
departure of a shipment from a particular warehouse. This communication can also extend to
becoming aware of things out of company control such as bad weather, accidents or road
closures. The timely benefit in communication social media allows leads to corporations
becoming swiftly aware of risks, ultimately allowing better decision making and minimizing a
greater impact on the supply chain process as a whole. Social media used within a corporation
for supply chain management can be used to do the following:
Research and find new suppliers, vendors and customers and understand advantages and
disadvantages of corporations based on previous reviews
Monitor suppliers and vendors reputation
Gain knowledge through influencers and thought leaders who posted niched content in
the SCM field
Send social media messages to indicate the arrival and departure of a shipment from a
particular distribution center or warehouse
Report weather conditions that might affect shipments
Facilitate responses to supply chain disruptions via social media
References
Huang, S., Potter, A., & Eyers, D. (2020). Social media in operations and supply chain
management: State-of-the-art and research directions. Taylor &
Francis. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2019.1702228
Tungande, F., Meyer, A., & Niemann, W. (2020). Opportunities and challenges of social media
in supply chain management: A study in the south african FMCG retail industry.Acta
Commercii, 20(1), e1-e12. https://doi.org/10.4102/ac.v20i1.864
Supply Chain Management. McGraw-Hill (2020).
Create. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781307866025
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