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Consumerism
REAL REPORT
The fundamentals of supply chain
have remained unchanged since
the inception of commerce. Raw
materials are procured, converted into
product, packaged and delivered for
customer consumption. It is easy for us to
lose sight of this simplicity of purpose when
considering modern supply chain structures
that span geographies, multiple corporations
and a myriad of technologies.
Today’s supply chain manager is afforded
more options than ever before to aid in the
process of getting product to market. There
are a host of decisions to consider such as,
where to source, manufacture and distribute;
whether to employ a demand pull versus a
forecast push model; what channel structure
to adopt; and how to handle returns. Each
decision will have a direct impact on leadtime,
cost and speed of responsiveness.
In this new environment, products are
continually revised, input costs are always
changing, customer needs are permanently
evolving and competition is fi erce for every
point in market share.
As if this was not enough to handle,
we then task our supply chains with
Sarbanes Oxley compliance, export
compliance, environmental sustainability,
risk mitigation, terrorism prevention, privacy
and the highest ethical standards. The
supply chain has become a complex fi eld
to navigate, with challenges and obstacles
around every corner.
After all of this analysis, what becomes of
the customer that is at the centre of this
supply chain equation? The world has come
a long way from the days of Henry Ford’s
“any colour as long as it is black” motto.
Consumers today want choice and demand
individuality. Companies have responded
with an explosion of product options—from
colour, to style and personalized skins. The
window that we have into these customer
requirements is a forecast any planner can
tell you from experience, will be wrong.
Help is at hand
To keep up with the demand, and continually
evolving landscape, changes in supply
chain support have been necessary. Today’s
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
have multiple avenues of support available
to aid in the development of their supply
chains. Most of this support is delivered by a
multitude of supply chain experts
that can alleviate the pressures of
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