May 1 & 2, 2024

Denton, TX, USA – Hosted by Tetra Pak

A value chain is the set of activities that a company or industry (group of companies) undertakes to create and deliver value for customers. As we discussed during the roundtable in Milano, while data visibility and some degree of optimization and efficiency have occurred in intra-organizational decision-making, we are, collectively, still not very good at sharing and collaborating up and down the value chain. This is not just a supply chain (upstream) issue, but also a customer and partner issue (downstream, adjacent, and often closer to the market). In fact, at its heart, the subject of value chain collaboration is all about creating value for customers whether they are other businesses or consumers. Hearing and sharing the voice of the customer, ensuring this perspective affects the value chain and is reflected in product and service development, manufacturing and the supply chain is important. Sharing data, perhaps even in real-time, so that the best decisions can be made for the value chain to fulfill the needs of the market can also drive value. Increasingly regulation or market/social sentiment requires the sharing of environmental, sustainability, or other assurance information that no one party in the chain has alone — marketplaces/platforms may play a role in making this and aspects of going to market more efficient. Simultaneously certain aspects of sharing are becoming harder with increasingly complex data and privacy rules and regulations, especially in the context of de-globalization and increased security concerns. Yet many still feel that there is a possibility for tangible value realization from increased collaboration and sharing.