A VC in Vacationland

Don’t get me wrong, I speak to at least one new supply chain entrepreneur per day.  They have interesting ideas in general–for example, everyone at the moment is into some variation on RFID technology.  But I started to think about what ideas I am NOT seeing and why they are not coming forward. Note: I am sure I will defame a bunch of entrepreneurs who have such solutions with this post, but contact me for cripes sakes and let me know about your innovative idea!

Here are a few ideas from my list of great supply chain entrepreneurial ideas that I have not seen as yet:

1. Business networks–Hey, social networks came out of nowhere and are now commanding valuations reaching into the billions. Where are the supply chain business networks start ups that would let logistics, procurement, manufacturing, product design guys collaborate around all sorts of critical topics, such as supplier performance, where to outsource, neat new strategies,etc., etc. I know that there are some Blogs and message boards in these spaces, but no one portal for the supply chain geek to share/obtain information on the supply chain universe.
2. Alternative energy–every VC worth his paycheck is investing in bio energy this or that at the moment.  Great–we will need new fuels sooner rather than later, and it may help solve our current Mideast crisis faster.  But how about developing advanced performance management systems for vehicles to better control fuel usage through on-board/corporate technologies?  Huge amounts of vehicle data is now being generated and transmitted from the vehicles to their companies.  How is this data being used to maximize fuel usage and efficiency? Are there innovative software solutions that leasing companies, private fleets and carriers can begin to use to spot issues before they happen and better control driver behavior?  Bring them on.
3. Knowledge Management–Providing reliable sources of data, information and insights on supply chains operations by industry may be a unachievable goal.  But I sure would like to see someone come up with a plan to try it.  For example, so much good knowledge is locked in the heads of thousands of supply chain managers.  It would be great to be able to begin to tap that knowledge, perhaps using a rewards system to compensate for the contributions. See business networks above for a potential platform for this space.
4. Convergence of CRM and SCM–My good friend Jonathan Colehower, CEO of Optiant, speaks about this idea all the time.  The traditional, and perhaps illogical, separation of managing customers and manging supply chains creates huge inefficiencies in supply chain networks. Where are the solutions that better integrate these spaces, using more up stream customer data to better manage supply chain operations. Optiant and TrueDemand (yea, I’m hyping my investments again) are pioneers in this space, but they approach it from the supply chain perspective.  I’d like to see an entrepreneur attack this issue from the CRM perspective as I believe it will yield additional insights and more robust solutions to supply chain inventory management problems.
5. Reverse Logistics–I know, shades of the dot com bubble. A number of reverse logistics start ups were funded, most failed and some are doing just fine.  But the market is huge and most players are in niche markets serving a few customers.  Very soon, states like California, for example, will begin to try and eat their young by passing mandatory recycling laws for electronic devices, batteries, whatever.  Just try and recycle anything like this today without major hassle.  What if someone came to your door and hauled this stuff away for free? Unlike the Got Junk guys–who get money from you to remove your trash and then make more money on recycled material sales. Supply chain management is a huge issue in this space.  Someone is going to figure out a better way to do this–why not you?

Dave has a lot more on his list, but he is tired and wants a beer.  Additional  supply chain innovation ideas will appear over the next few months.  Or send me your innovative ideas at Dave@supplychainventure.com .

Oh, on my second musing as to why more innovative supply chain ideas have not been forthcoming in recent years?  I wish I had a good answer to that one.  There is no lack of funding today for the right new, new things in this space.