Strategic Supply Chain Management - Supply Chain Online

Owens Corning Profile:
Reorganizing for
“a Bright Future”
The “big squeeze” of its core industry segments—cost inflation and price
deflation—led Owens Corning to rethink its supply chain organization
and processes in order to understand the impact of these elements on its
ability to be competitive and customer-facing enterprisewide.
Based in Toledo, Ohio, Owens Corning (OC) has manufacturing facilities
in more than 25 countries and 165 distribution centers. It’s a $5 billion
market leader in building-materials systems and composites solutions
known for its innovative portfolio of products—it invented glass fiber and
glass-fiber insulation over 50 years ago.
Approximately 80 percent of the company’s revenues come from its
building-materials portfolio of products and systems that are sold through
distributors, contractors, and large national retailers mainly in North
America. Composites account for the remainder of revenues and are used
in the automotive, telecommunications, electronics, and construction
industries in a global market.
As big as it is and as well known as its brand is, however, OC has
faced increasing competition within key markets because of globalization
and industry consolidation in recent years. “We must be able to compete on
more than price,” notes Sue Hatfield, the company’s director of strategy
and integration for supply chain and technology. “Our greatest challenge is
providing low-cost flexibility to meet increased customer demands.”
This is a turnabout for the industry. Building products is a process
manufacturing industry and is highly asset-intensive, making use of assets
131
Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use.