netflix and its supplychain

After a hard day’s work, we all want to come back home and forget all our worries. Many of us resort to music, food, reading and even binge watching our favorite TV shows on Netflix. Netflix has, immensely revolutionized the way we consume content in the form of movies, sitcoms, documentaries, and TV shows now. By adopting new technologies, it has made the process of choosing and watching on-demand content easy and at a really low cost. New age companies can learn from Netflix’s model and evolve their supply chain operations using some of the same technologies. The technology used by Netflix is similar to the technology that is needed in supply chain management today. By using real-time content, big data analytics, machine learning and a single point of engagement, supply chain leaders can mitigate risk, maximize efficiency, remove blind spots by achieving a true picture of their supply chain.

Inventory Upkeep
Movies and T.V shows lose their value over time so it’s important for Netflix to keep their inventory fresh and updated to offer new things to their users and in turn retain them. This becomes more complicated when the content owners do not license their media for a variety of reasons. Through careful processes and demand planning based on consumption data, Netflix carefully curates content for it to become the go-to platform for media. The food industry that deals with perishables can take a page out of Netflix’s formula to ensure a proper inventory management.

On-demand Delivery
Netflix lets its users to stream its content anywhere, anytime. With streaming, customers can view videos wherever they are with no limits on the amount of content they can access. Streaming can be used in the supply chain as well. Logistics managers can manage shipments in real-time, pinpointing their exact location and collecting all of the data. Collecting real-time information allows companies to not only view and track their shipments end-to-end at any time across their supply chain network but also to optimize their supply chain operations.

Damage Control
Netflix uses a localized delivery model for each market they operate in to distribute accurate subtitles and artwork that emphasizes local celebrities of those countries and perform quality control on the full package of digital assets. Ultimately this is common sense for any organization to have systems and processes to check ill-produced products at the final level of the supply chain before they are sold or become a part of another product. The foundation of Netflix’s success is based on effective supply chain management that helped them become the go-to platform for streaming media.

Sourcing
Their reputation established as the premier go-to platfrom for entertainment, Netflix implemented quality control structures and certification process that ensured all content met high standards. Eventually the Netflix Delivery Standard for videos (4:3 aspect ratio) got support from post-production houses, which were mentored by designated Netflix team. This eliminated the problem of “different versions” from one content owner to another and empowered them to deliver a smooth experience to their customers. Manufacturing organisations, that source individual components from other players can look to establish a flow of processes to maintain the quality and standardization of their overall product.