In the past two months, IBM has made three strategic moves that bolster its SmarterCommerce portfolio.  Acquisitions of Emptoris and Demandtec expanded sourcing and pricing portfolios while the new version of IBM ILOG LogicNet Plus XE further enhances supply chain network capabilities.  These actions move IBM closer to achieving the technology requirements to support matrix commerce.

New channels such as social, mobile, and virtual goods create new business models that disrupt and expose the weaknesses and rigidity in existing models.  Our research helps guide clients on how to optimize and deploy Matrix Commerce for the right customer audiences. Matrix Commerce extends beyond the sales and customer focus to include management and optimization of supporting sourcing and supply chain facets.

Specific focus of the Matrix Commerce research theme at Constellation Research will be:

•   Market landscape of next generation products
•   Relevant use cases by customer type
•   Nature of Matrix Commerce
•   Vendor selection criteria
•   Future of Matrix Commerce

Stay tuned for more details as we prepare to launch Matrix Commerce and see summary of the three IBM announcements mentioned above and our POV in relation to Matrix Commerce.

My first CSCMP was in 1989 and I always try to get there every year to catch up with all my logistics and supply chain friends!

As with every year, there are opportunities to learn new things and meet new people. Here’s a link to my recent tweetstream for shoutouts to some of the great people I met this year!

Held again in Philadelphia, this year’s event brought back memories of 2004, the year the old CLM: Council of Logistics Management became today’s CSCMP: Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals!

New of course, in it’s second year, is The CSCMP Supply Chain of the Future exhibition. And I’m pleased to report I did come across the retail & consumer products supply chain of the future but NOT at the exhibition (more on this later)

Those who know me are aware I’m active on Twitter both as @JeffAshcroft and @SupplyChainNtwk. Last year in San Diego we held the very first SCN Tweetup at CSCMP to which 3 people came. Happy to report this year we had a 100% increase in attendees and many, many more tweeting under the #CSCMP and #CSCMP2011 hashtags.

As business requirements change, both the adoption of new technology and the role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) will continue to evolve. This future of the CMO customer survey report addresses two questions: How has the role of the CMO changed? What skills will I need to develop to further my career as a marketing leader? Readers will gain perspective on the new four hats of the CMO, and begin to assess which skills to develop to meet both personal career and business needs. This market overview includes data from a Constellation Research survey of 126 marketing leaders serving CMO roles across multiple industries and geographies leveraging The Social CMO network.

Executive Summary

Previous technology and business shifts have subtly changed the role of the CMO. However, the new consumer engagement models of the social revolution will spawn the need for a new breed of business and marketing technology leaders. These leaders must navigate a myriad of converging and disruptive technologies, align new initiatives to both business value and technology ROI feasibility, and identify strategies to leverage existing program investments to fund innovation.

The traditional CMO must overcome inertia and wear one or more of the four hats or roles for The Social CMO: Chief “Maintenance” Officer, Chief “Migration” Officer, Chief “Measurement” Officer, and Chief “MatrixMarketing” Officer. In our survey of 126 CMOs in the second quarter of 2011, Constellation Research uncovered the priorities for these next-generation CMOs.

Shifting to a Chief Maintenance Officer, Chief Migration Officer and Chief MatrixMarketing role should be a smooth transition for most CMOs, but only a few with vision, ambition and business savvy will grow into the Chief Measurement Officer role. In each of these shifts, CMOs will have to reprioritize their project portfolios and develop new skill sets. Regardless of the shift, a new breed of CMOs will emerge to match the needs of the organization, taking a more leadership-focused, customer experience, and business point of view.

The full report of The Four Hats of The Social CMO is now available for pre-order and will be released the week of September 26th after which date can be ordered here. Members of the Constellation Research Client Community will also have access to a quark providing some additional details.

Jeff Ashcroft

As organizations evolve their business models in the coming decade, a new breed of business and technology leaders emerges to meet the challenge. These leaders will navigate a myriad of converging and disruptive technologies, align new initiatives for both business value and technology feasibility, and identify strategies to leverage existing investments to fund innovation. Consequently, traditional supply chain operations also need to evolve along with new roles and focuses for the CSCO. Later in 2011, additional research will be conducted into these new roles.

This initial Constellation Research supply chain report focuses on supply chain synergy, summarizing a significant body of work. The second report in this series will include real world pilot examples and direct improvement results. Questions about the types of supply chain synergy present in supply chains as well as the Supply Chain Synergy Indicators that identify these synergies will be answered.