TABLE OF CONTENTS After reading this chapter you should be able to:
recognize and know the key challenges facing organizational supply chain strategies;
know key drivers of these challenges and be able to explain them;
evaluate the importance of the challenges in developing appropriate supply chain strategies.
A study by Accenture Management Consultants (Accenture, 2000) revealed six different but equally successful supply chain strategies which were:
Market-saturation-driven: high profit margins delivered through strong branding and ubiquitous marketing and distribution.
Operationally agile: configuring assets and operations to respond quickly and fleet of foot to emerging consumer trends through product categories or geographical region.
Freshness-oriented: earning a premium by delivering products to the consumer that are fresher than competitor offerings.
Consumer customizer: adopt mass customization to build and maintain close relationships with consumers through direct sales.
Logistics optimizer: emphasize balance of supply chain efficiency and effectiveness.
Trade-focused: priority on low price, best value for the consumer.
It is important to recognize that there are different paths to future successful supply chain strategies. The path chosen by an organization will depend on a number of factors that influence their decision environmental conditions, organizational capabilities and customer requirements are just three of those issues. This book began by stating that supply chain strategies are customer-driven and need to be customer-focused and the strategies listed above reinforce that proposition.
A number of key supply chain challenges have emerged in recent times. These challenges are business-, consumer-and government-driven. Many issues, concepts and strategies have been discussed...
