Q1.

Can Social media platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp,

Twitter etc) be used for efficient supply chain management?
These days, it is obligatory for an association to acquaint imaginative strategies and cycles with
make the activity more smooth out, work on the proficiency and creating most noteworthy gain to
remain on top given the degree of contest in market. Numerous associations neglect to see Supply
Chain Management part while improving different cycles. They for the most part search for the
between authoritative activities instead of entire chain which is truly reaches to end customer. It
makes the SCM less successful and disordered. In any case, this can be dealt with by the new age
headway in advancements and association of individuals in it. Commitment of Social Media in
business truly has the effect on guarantee most elevated client esteem. It tends to be more useful
in making perceivability, upgrading business to client correspondence, decreasing procedural
expense as well as labor supply and making authority more engaged and benefit situated,
alleviating the gamble in ideal way and further developing business knowledge. Consumer
satisfaction profoundly relies upon smoothed out and useful Supply Chain Management.

How Can Social Media Be Used in the Supply Chain?

Social media is about building relationships, and it can be used in a supply chain to build and
grow relationships among trading partners. Information and knowledge gathered from the use of
social media by supply chain partners can provide insight into various issues of the supply chain,
industry, competition, etc. It can also be used to build relationships and determine key
performance indicators, such as the on-time performance of a carrier or slow payments from a
shipper. Some companies use social media to solicit information from their customers as a
platform for making recommendations for improvement.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp is used within their organisations; however, the findings show that they only use it for
either to communicate internally amongst employees or with suppliers. This is illustrated with the
following quotes:‘We have a couple of WhatsApp groups with our suppliers. So, instead of
sending an email and the guy getting it in the afternoon then you rather send the WhatsApp on the
group and they attend to it quite fast.’ We have WhatsApp groups for our distribution managers.
These guys post on the WhatsApp group what’s their warehouse utilisation like; how many
vehicles did they dispatch; did they dispatch them on time; what was the utilisation of those
vehicles; were there any staff issues. WhatsApp can be utilised for customer engagement.

Facebook

The use of Facebook to communicate with their customers as well as receive feedback from
customers. We have acustomer services team. We had a consumer complaints hotline, but more
often people use Facebook and don’t go there, so we’ve been monitoring; you actually have
businesses that monitor brand mentions and stuff, and they would alert us to, “Hold on, here’s
the problem” and then you can react to that.’ the older generation and youth use Facebook more
or less. More youth use Instagram than the old people. So we are on Facebook, we have more
customers to get to than Instagram.’ Primarily they use Facebook. The reason why is you want to
have people engaging with other people on there. You want people to talk about their
experiences. Facebook is the most engaging platform for customer engagement and is best suited
to build, invest in and maintain relationships.

Twitter

Use of Twitter for customer promotion purposes, So that goes with hits. that’s the term that we
use. So, the more hits you get on a particular platform, Twitter is probably the biggest for us, the
more energies and resources we put.

There is potential for Twitter to be used more by FMCG retailers in South Africa as the majority
of respondents currently do not use it for advertising purposes, and this may be because of a
possible lack of knowledge they have of Twitter, Twitter can generate sales for organisations. If
a campaign is effectively promoted on social media the realised profits that can be substantial.
The findings are in line with the extant literature; however, FMCG retailers need to be educated
on how Twitter can be used as a strategic tool to extract data and predict demand more than just
merely using it for promotions as is the current case.
Q2:what are the potential benefits and barriers in adopting
social media as a supply chain tool?

 4 ways social media benefits the supply chain

1. Communicate
Supply chain companies often struggle with showing the more human side of their
business. And with buyer’s continually seeking a more personal connection to brands,
B2B companies have to get creative. Social media can help. Social networks allow
leaders to communicate using language, images and sound to create an inside look into
your brand. With the ability to ask questions and engage with followers, social platforms
help to create a community around your products and services.
2. Gain Insight
Unsure how you are holding up against your competitors? Want to learn about market
expansion opportunities or new technologies in your industry? Social media can be your
window into the supply chain world. Not only can you see what topics and trends
competitors are posting about, but you can benchmark your current digital marketing
strategy against what other brands are doing. Making adjustments along the way will only
help to make your marketing efforts more successful.
3. Educate
In a world congested with content, it’s important to make sure you’re joining social
networks to add value to your followers. Creating posts that are educational, as well as
entertaining, to audiences will establish your brand as a thought leader in the supply
chain industry. Authors can either create these posts themselves or engage with a
professional writing service for expert writing reviews.
4. New talent
The supply chain talent gap can be felt throughout the industry. In fact, more and more
articles are being written about the crisis of hiring and, more importantly, retaining
supply chain talent. According to statistics, using social networks like LinkedIn can help
boost branding for your supply chain company.And though branding might not come
easily for some supply chain management executives, it is key in today’s digital world for
 positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry, as well as gaining positive
traction as an employer.

Portable Information Vaults

The continued increase in
demand for information
portability (i.e., availability over
mobile
devices) requires the ability to
instantaneously access
information. Social media is
well
positioned to offer the necessary
platforms
Balancing Speed and
Contemplation
Effective decision-making
usually requires a balance
between speed and
contemplation.
The rapidity with which many
social-media platforms can
provide video, audio, and
written
communications across a vast
network of suppliers, in real
time, will turbo-charge decision-
making in the supply chain. It
will ensure that pertinent
information is considered
regardless of how fast a decision
must be made.
 Portable Information Vaults
The continued increase in
demand for information
portability (i.e., availability over
mobile
devices) requires the ability to
instantaneously access
information. Social media is
well
positioned to offer the necessary
platforms.
 Replacing Collaboration with
Community
Given the risks inherent in
global sourcing and the need for
continual innovation in order to
maintain a competitive
advantage, supplier relationships
must move beyond
collaboration.
The still-evolving demand for
transparency in business
requires ever-closer
relationships
with key suppliers. Building a
community of suppliers where
business-critical information,
opportunities, and thoughts can
be shared and built upon in real
time will become the
leading edge for many
organizations. Social-media
platforms are ripe to be the
foundations
for such communities.
 Building a Platform for
Innovation
Creativity and innovation are the
staples of any leading-edge
organization. Engaging
suppliers, such as through social
media, is the best way to
stimulate supply-chain
innovation.
Balancing Speed and
Contemplation
Effective decision-making
usually requires a balance
between speed and
contemplation.
The rapidity with which many
social-media platforms can
provide video, audio, and
written
communications across a vast
network of suppliers, in real
time, will turbo-charge decision-
making in the supply chain. It
will ensure that pertinent
information is considered
regardless of how fast a decision
must be made.
 Portable Information Vaults
The continued increase in
demand for information
portability (i.e., availability over
mobile
devices) requires the ability to
instantaneously access
information. Social media is
well
positioned to offer the necessary
platforms.
 Replacing Collaboration with
Community
Given the risks inherent in
global sourcing and the need for
continual innovation in order to
maintain a competitive
advantage, supplier relationships
must move beyond
collaboration.
The still-evolving demand for
transparency in business
requires ever-closer
relationships
with key suppliers. Building a
community of suppliers where
business-critical information,
opportunities, and thoughts can
be shared and built upon in real
time will become the
leading edge for many
organizations. Social-media
platforms are ripe to be the
foundations
for such communities.
 Building a Platform for
Innovation
Creativity and innovation are the
staples of any leading-edge
organization. Engaging
suppliers, such as through social
media, is the best way to
stimulate supply-chain
innovation.
 Supply chain challenges that social media has created
(Barriers)
The second theme of this study relates to the challenges that social media has created in SCM
within the South African FMCG retail industry. The sub-themes identified are empowered
customers, the lack of control over the information that is shared on social media and fake news.

The empowered customer

customers are more empowered because of social media. The voice of the customer is broadcast
over a platform where many other customers can see their sentiments albeit positive or negative.

if something untoward happens, this almost makes organisations powerless, as at that time the
power lies completely in the hands of that consumer. This sentiment is supported by the findings
as FMCG retailers are struggling to proactively meet the changing customer demands and
following trends on social media.

Lack of control
the nature of social media makes it difficult to control the information that is shared online; the
information shared is displayed in full view of other customers and has the potential to influence
customers positivity or negatively The findings support the research by that information can be
volatile on social media, and from a public relations standpoint, there need to be limitations and
careful strategies created as a line of defence for the organisation if there is an unfavourable
online incident

Fake news

there is some form of negativity on social media platforms that were because of disgruntled
customers. fake news spread on social media has the potential to cause reputational damage,
which can be immense and can take a long time to remedy and repair within the organisation and
with supply chain partners involved.

Bad Publicity.

Social networks can offer you very interesting advertising for your business, but keep in mind
that they can also spread bad things from your company. To avoid this, you can do two things:

1) Always give the best service and

2) Manage your customers’ complaints well, giving a great resolution.

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