Overview

The end or final customer is the person at the end of the supply chain who makes the decision whether or not to buy the product or service offered. The purchasing decisions of the end customer have some proportional effect on each facet of the supply chain contribution to the finished product.

It is the end customer that brings profit to the supply chain. Profits for the supply chain are dependent on the customer's purchasing decisions and on the efficiency of the supply chain to produce the product. Each process, either internally or externally, should be adding value to the product. Processes that do not add value diminish the levels of profit that can be achieved. The levels of profits that can be achieved and the continuation of these relationships form the basis for managing and integrating the supply chain.

Perceptions generally about who the end customer is may vary along the supply chain. Take a manufacturer for example, employing hundreds of people. From the supply-base perspective the manufacturer for day-to-day transactions may well be regarded as the end customer. Given that this perspective prevails, the manufacturer is perceived as the 'responsible' entity for communicating demand where satisfaction begins and ends.

The perception that satisfying the demands of the next customer is the end of the supply obligation is important. In the above example the manufacturer might supply an original end manufacture (OEM). The OEM in turn might integrate the supplied product into its own product for supply...