Added value customer perspective

Metrics for purity may simply be a statement of the purity or the impurity profile of the final product for any given process. However, if one is interested in purity from a perspective of greening syntheses, we might be more interested in how many times we isolate intermediates and or how many times we recrystallize the final substance to achieve the desired purity. Another point worthy of consideration is the idea that quality is defined as delivering the exact requirements needed in the eyes of the customer, and it is therefore possible for higher purity to go beyond the customer s needs. Additional purification steps will, in almost every case, add to the mass and energy intensity of a product without necessarily adding value to the customer. 

What is the purpose of integration in the supply chain, and why should it lead to value-added from the end-customer perspective ... 

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