(Gartner: Stanford, CT) -- Organizations seeking to make the transition from a supply chain to a demand-driven value network (DDVN) must look beyond traditional projects and adopting functional best practices, according to Gartner Inc. Gartner analysts have identified four imperatives that supply-chain leaders must address to make the change successfully.

“The case for value-chain transformation has never been greater,” says Steve Steutermann, research vice president at Gartner. “Competing in global markets requires companies to abandon internally focused supply chains and reorganize resources, processes, and systems to support networks aligned for joint value creation.”

The four imperatives that organizations address before attempting to design and execute a transformation road map are:

1. Identify a burning platform. Organizations must realize that supply-chain change is required and identify pain points that stakeholders can relate to. The burning platform can include a picture, slogan, list of problems, or quantification of business impact and should send a concise and direct message about the primary nature of the problem, allowing details to be itemized within the business case.

 …