Strategic Supply Chain Management - Supply Chain Online

CHAPTER 6 A Roadmap to Change 239
As noted earlier, on-time delivery or fast-order fulfillment is critical
for organizations such as Company X which compete based on superior
customer service. These companies may seek technology-based solutions
designed to improve performance in these areas, such as a Web-based
order-entry portal for customers or real-time radio frequency identification
(RFID)–based tracking of products that are in transit to the customer.
If customers are unwilling to use a portal, or if orders are constantly
bogged down by internal inefficiencies or product shortages, however,
these solutions won’t improve performance in the short term. These operational
problems need to be addressed first, with the technological solution
being part of the longer-term roadmap.
Figure 6-4 shows the categories of change, which range from fixing
the basics, to extracting additional value from existing processes and information
systems, to investments in wholly new processes and technology.
Companies that begin their roadmap development after achieving a
high level of process maturity may need to consider more significant
investments in processes, organization, and information systems to reach
the next level of performance.
Understand the Interrelationships among Initiatives
The General Motors (GM) profile highlights the importance of evaluating
prospective supply chain initiatives as an integrated effort. Rather than
FIGURE 6–4
Categories of change.
New
investments
Extract value from
existing processes and
information systems
Fix the basics