When Triple-A Supply Chains Meet Digitalization: The Case of JD.com's C2M Model

Abstract

© 2020 Production and Operations Management Society. The Triple-A supply chain (Lee 2004) has become one of the most influential concepts for practitioners and researchers in supply chain management. It stipulates that supply chains should strive to improve along the dimensions of agility, adaptability, and alignment, as opposed to focusing exclusively on cost and efficiency improvements. While various strategies have since been adopted across different industries to foster the Triple-A, the digitalization movement poses both new challenges and opportunities for developing Triple-A supply chains. In this article, we shall discuss an emerging mode of supply chain innovation, known as the consumer-to-manufacturer (C2M) model, and how it enables new possibilities for achieving Triple-A “digital” supply chains. C2M establishes digital links between end consumers and upstream manufacturers and product designers, and provides a variety of tactics to shorten the information flow process of the supply chain. Our discussion focuses on the implementation of C2M at JD.com, a leading online retailer in China.