Supply
Chain Solutions
Supply
Chain Management (SCM) is the number one strategic priority
for manufacturing executives, according to a recent US
Bancorp Piper Jaffray study. That's not surprising when
you consider that supply chain solutions were supposed
to curb the patterns of inventory excess and shortage
that typically cost companies millions, sometimes billions
of dollars. But the reality of SCM differs dramatically
from its promise.
The
term supply chain refers to the entire network of companies
that work together to design, produce, deliver, and
service products. Since its inception about 10 years
ago, the field of supply chain management has become
tremendously important to companies in an increasingly
competitive global marketplace. In the past, companies
focused primarily on manufacturing and quality improvements
within their four walls; now their efforts extend beyond
those walls to encompass the entire supply chain. Why
do this? Most of the gains achievable from an internal
focus have been realized, while the opportunities that
exist through cooperation and collaboration are the
new frontier!
There
is more to supply chain management than just material
flows; information flows and financial flows are also
important. Many supply chain improvements actually substitute
information for inventory. As information is considerably
cheaper than inventory, there are important gains to
be made. Financial flows are critical because most companies
measure their supply chain performance with metrics
that involve Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable
- using the wrong metrics can adversely affect supply
chain initiatives.
Is
product design linked to supply chain considerations?
Are your supplier and outsourcing strategies coordinated?
Do you and your partners have performance measures in
place to measure true supply chain effectiveness? Is
your organizational structure inhibiting successful
supply chain management? What will be the effect of
the Internet on your supply chain? With an integrated
supply chain management system in place, you can answer
these questions confidently. You can simultaneously
improve customer service and reduce inventories across
the chain. What's more, if you integrate supply chain
concepts into your product development and design plans
early on, you'll gain economic and competitive advantage
throughout the entire product life cycle.
Supply
chain management is one of the leading business process
re-engineering, cost-saving and revenue enhancement
strategies in use today. Effective integration of your
supply chain can save millions, simultaneously improving
customer service and reducing inventories; even greater
gains are possible by bringing supply chain strategies
to the table early on in product development and design
plans.
The
Ink2Web Technologies' Supply Chain Solutions offering
helps clients plan and implement new operating models
to lower costs, increase asset productivity and improve
customer relationships. In particular, we combine our
deep skills and leading-edge approaches in supply chain
planning, manufacturing and design, procurement, fulfillment
— and new models such as eGovernment, eCommerce,
outsourcing and supply chain value transformation —
to dramatically improve our clients' overall operating
efficiency.
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