The three elements of a best-in-class SC
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 10/30/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT
Unanticipated market events that disrupt supply chains are a bane to control. But what distinguishes best-in-class practitioners are information-based strategies clustered around three supply chain elements that can be managed and controlled. A recent study by Boston-based Aberdeen Group, The Responsive Supply Chain, cites these elements as inventory, supply chain network, and product.
“Such events cannot be controlled, but you can manage your response if you have the right technologies in place,” says Nari Viswanathan, research director in Aberdeen's supply chain and logistics practice. Sales and operations planning—and clear ownership of the process—is central for a better response to sudden demand changes, Viswanathan says.
Point-of-sale, inventory-optimization systems, and end-to-end supply chain visibility are among the top IT-based strategies that can help companies move toward best-in-class responsiveness to market events, the study findings show.
 Sales & operations planning is central to informed responses to sudden demand changes, says Nari Viswanathan of Aberdeen Group. |
