Social Media and the Supply Chain

Social media is proving to be more than just a hip fad. It's a medium that will change marketing and business at an alarming rate over the next few years. Here are some statistics from a recent article on just how big social media is becoming:

• Facebook has over 500 users. These users spend over 700 billion minutes every month on the website
  
• 200 million Twitter users send out about 95 million tweets every day.
  
• Over 100 million users have created a LinkedIn account, with over 1 million users signing up each week.
  

Businesses are now learning to use social media to increase their brand presence, connect with their customers, and learn how to improve their offerings and operating efficiencies. How can logistics and supply chain operations use social media to ensure their operations are lean and their productivity is maximized?
This topic is discussed in a new article on WMSG by guest blogger Luciano Cunha. Cunha discusses how social media can be used to maximize supply chain demand planning, but under the caveat that context must be considered to ensure that data is accurate and useful. He discusses two paradoxes (the Real-Time Paradox and the China Paradox) that exemplify this need to consider the audience when using social media data. In the article, he also provides guidance and suggestions on how to effectively use social media and the Connected Experience for better logistics management.
You can read the article in its entirety here: http://www.warehousemanagementsystemsguide.com/blog/social-media-supply-chain-042711/.