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The Digital Supply Chain Challenge 2nd Edition

Breaking Through

By Ralf W. Seifert and Richard Markoff

December 2023

Overview

Book preview

Authors

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Overview

Book preview

Authors

Keep reading

The challenges facing supply chain professionals are changing rapidly. Today, far from focusing on capital expenditures and logistics such as warehousing and distribution, supply chain executives are expected to understand all aspects of the business, appreciate the constraints and expectations of upstream and downstream partners, and possess sufficient technological savvy to navigate the bewildering array of options presented by Industry 4.0 and supply chain digitalization (SCD). This book is for them.

The Digital Supply Chain Challenge: Breaking Through 2nd Edition is a distillation of the authors’ 50+ years of combined supply chain experience, both at the coal face and in the classroom. Their insights and observations – captured in short articles and best-practice case studies – are brought together in one place for supply chain executives to consult at different times during their SCD voyage, to find benchmarks, relevant insights or even just to help formulate the right questions along the way. It is a sort of handbook to the essentials of digital supply chain transformation.

This new edition contains additional chapters on AI, an evaluation of Industry 4.0, why the promised fourth industrial revolution hasn’t happened yet and new cases studies on Henkel, HEINEKEN, L’Oreal and Zalando.

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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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Publisher

IMD CSL

ISBN

978-2-940485-72-7

Ralf Seifert

Professor of Operations Management.

Ralf Seifert is Professor of Operations Management. His primary research and teaching interests are operations management, supply chain strategy, and digital transformation. His work lies at the heart of one of the most important topics currently facing organizations, as supply chains come under strain due to multiple global changes. He has also worked on industry analysis, competitive strategy, and new venture formation.

Seifert says supply chain management has grown tremendously in importance in recent years, and the agenda for supply chain executives has expanded massively. They must now address topics such as digital transformation, supply chain resilience, and sustainability in addition to worries around cost pressure, inflation, and new geopolitical constraints.

Recent supply chain tensions have been triggered by strong demand for goods at a time of significant supply chain disruptions. It is not clear if the world will ever return to a situation in which just-in-time inventory management is seen as the holy grail. Executives will have to master more profound supply chain transformations to safeguard future operations, he says.

Keep reading

Article

Supply chain upheaval and the future of leadership

Explore how volatility, technology, and talent are driving supply chain upheaval and reshaping leadership priorities worldwide.

Supply Chain

By Ralf Seifert

in I by IMD

Case Study

UrbanLuxe: Supply chain product recall readiness

Operations Supply Chain Strategy Crisis Management

By Ralf W. Seifert, Richard Markoff and Olivier André Gléron

Article

Right place, right time: The story behind Intel’s amazing rebound

A year ago, Intel was widely viewed as on its way to becoming a Silicon Valley relic: bleeding cash, shedding jobs and struggling to keep pace with the AI revolution upending the semiconductor industry. Today, the mood could hardly be more differe...

Artificial Intelligence Supply Chain

By Amit M. Joshi

in The Straits Times

19 May 2026

Podcast

Kati ter Horst on being a first-time CEO when the old rules are gone

Learn from Kati ter Horst how European industries can remain competitive in a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape and the importance of strategic protection

Industry Analysis Leadership Geopolitics Strategy Implementation Supply Chain

By David Bach

in I by IMD

Article

Leading supply chains through continuous disruption | I by IMD

Learn how Dirk Holbach of Henkel Consumer Brands is leading supply chains through continuous disruption with adaptability and resilience.

Supply Chain

By Ralf Seifert and Katrin Siebenbürger Hacki

in I by IMD

Article

Why Tesla fell behind BYD, and why catching up won’t be easy

China’s BYD has pulled ahead of Tesla, becoming the world’s biggest maker of fully electric vehicles (EVs). The shift reflects more than the fortunes of the two companies. Tesla’s dethroning shows how China’s EV sector, built around dense supplier...

Supply Chain

By Mark J. Greeven

in South China Morning Post

8 February 2026

Podcast

Caspar Herzberg on how ‘radical collaboration’ can unlock trapped value

Caspar Herzberg on how industries can unlock hidden value through radical collaboration, data sharing, and smarter, more efficient supply chains.

Data Analytics Innovation Leadership Supply Chain

By Michael R. Wade

in I by IMD

Video

How ‘radical collaboration’ can unlock trapped value in industrial data

Caspar Herzberg of Aveva explains how breaking down data silos and fostering “radical collaboration” can boost industrial efficiency, resilience, and trust.

Data Analytics Innovation Leadership Supply Chain

By Michael R. Wade

in I by IMD

Article

How "radical collaboration" can unlock trapped value in industrial data

Caspar Herzberg, the CEO of AVEVA, explains to Michael Wade why breaking down data silos between companies, not just within them, could transform industrial efficiency. But rivals must first learn to trust each other.

Artificial Intelligence Digital Supply Chain

By Michael R. Wade

in I by IMD Magazine

December 2025, no. 20, pp. 54–55

Article

Global trade fragmentation - Supply Chains

New models of economic development are emerging from global trade fragmentation. Supply chain executives must now weigh far more complex trade-offs, says Christos Cabolis

Competitiveness Strategy Supply Chain

By Christos Cabolis

in I by IMD

UrbanLuxe: Supply chain product recall readiness

By Ralf W. Seifert Richard Markoff and Olivier André Gléron
Case reference: IMD-2758 ©2026

Summary

This short case exercise presents a rare but critical real-world business scenario: A large, multi-country, multi-site beauty company wishes to evaluate its capability to execute a major product recall. The need for a recall may be due to an internal quality issue or one caused by quality defects from a supplier. The CEO has seen a competitor struggle when faced with this challenge, along with the severe, potentially lasting damage to the brand, and has asked the head of supply chain to assess and provide a brief on the ability of their company's supply chain to respond should they find themselves in the same circumstances. The case provides a vehicle for students to consider the supply chain challenges a company might face in constructing policy, processes and tools to be capable of quickly and effectively executing a product recall with customers and consumers. It will spur them to consider the need for traceability from several tiers of suppliers, through the transformation into finished goods, to inventories located at customers or already sold to consumers. The broad array of distribution channels in today's supply chains adds another layer of complexity. Although the case is fictitious, it is anchored in the real world and will elicit challenges that are universally present in companies today.

Reference IMD-2758

Organization UrbanLuxe Cosmetics (Fictionalized)

Industry Consumer Goods, Cosmetics and Perfumes

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Operations

Supply Chain

Strategy

Crisis Management

Browse all topics

Right place, right time: The story behind Intel’s amazing rebound

By Amit M. Joshi
in The Straits Times 19 May 2026

Summary

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Artificial Intelligence

Supply Chain

Browse all topics

Kati ter Horst on being a first-time CEO when the old rules are gone

By David Bach
in I by IMD

Summary

Learn from Kati ter Horst how European industries can remain competitive in a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape and the importance of strategic protection

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Industry Analysis

Leadership

Geopolitics

Strategy Implementation

Supply Chain

Browse all topics

Caspar Herzberg on how ‘radical collaboration’ can unlock trapped value

By Michael R. Wade
in I by IMD

Summary

Caspar Herzberg on how industries can unlock hidden value through radical collaboration, data sharing, and smarter, more efficient supply chains.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Data Analytics

Innovation

Leadership

Supply Chain

Browse all topics

How ‘radical collaboration’ can unlock trapped value in industrial data

By Michael R. Wade
in I by IMD

Summary

Caspar Herzberg of Aveva explains how breaking down data silos and fostering “radical collaboration” can boost industrial efficiency, resilience, and trust.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Data Analytics

Innovation

Leadership

Supply Chain

Browse all topics

Global trade fragmentation - Supply Chains

By Christos Cabolis
in I by IMD

Summary

New models of economic development are emerging from global trade fragmentation. Supply chain executives must now weigh far more complex trade-offs, says Christos Cabolis

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Competitiveness

Strategy

Supply Chain

Browse all topics