Visually-Enabled Supply Chain

Increasing globalization has generated new challenges in effective supply chain management. The forces molding supply chains today are being driven by: * The need to innovate, find and use talent anywhere in the world; * The expectation of continued price reductions and, in some industries, over capacity, both of which put downward pressure on pricing; * Customer expectations that prices will drop over time and increased difficulty passing on internal cost to the customer; and * Exchange rates are having a larger impact on pricing in a global market place. Present supply chain development strategy emphasizes focusing on a core competence for your business space and establishing partnerships with suppliers that have complementary core competencies. There are several business advantages to this strategy, including: * Grow market share in different regions and build economies of scale to gain cost advantages; * Develop more cost effective supply chains that move manufacturing closer to sources of labor and raw materials; * Organizational development - the capability to use talent anywhere in the world; and * Risk mitigation - strategically locating operations and supply chains in different regions reduces the risk of supply interruptions (diversification helps