Localizing your supply chain

STANDARDIZATION ETHIC

If we search around
the world, multinational companies are winning customers by creating products
and campaigns that appeal to local populations. Their priority is to create an
experience that feels more authentic and develop products that have a region-specific
appeal.

What brand chains do?

Chains like Starbucks
and McDonald’s grew their revenue with standardization ethics i.e a promise to
consumers that any item they purchase will be identical whether they are buying
it in Brooklyn or Bali.

Localization in supply chain

Connection with a
wider audience isn’t the only benefit of localization. It’s also a tool that
helps deflect competition. The less standardized a business is, the harder it
is to copy. Moreover, standardization, while it does aid in streamlining many
processes, also forces products and practices into rigid molds that may make
change harder down the line. This can undermine innovation in the supply chain.

It is said that
running supply chains with the goal of localization in mind comes with many
benefits as such the goal of localization can help businesses maintain
flexibility across product development and process management.

How and When to Localize

Localization isn’t
just about changing up product offerings. Everything from staff uniforms, to
store layouts, to marketing tactics, can be altered to make a location feel
more like home to shoppers.

When it comes to
supply chains, localization can be a matter of putting your manufacturing
centers and other extended supply chains closer to the market you’re targeting.

The Future!

Localizing is no
longer just a factor or changing a few things in a product. It is a process
that is spanning entire supply chains and informing product development,
location decisions, and manufacturing models. Using this process many supply
chains have grown in the past few years and many are working on this process.