Agility supply chain process

A process related to lean and agile supply chain (see Chapter 13) should increase its velocity. 

One manufacturer has found a way to overcome the lead-time problems so as to be able to quickly respond to fashion. Benetton, an Italian apparel manufacturer makes sweaters in bulk, but delays the dyeing process until after initial sales figures are received from the retailers. In other words, colour choices are made after the manufacture. This approach has increased the cost of production by 10 per cent but has resulted in improved forecasts, less surplus stock and due to quick response to customer demand higher sales which has more than compensated for the inCTease in production cost. Major retailers are responding to challenges of lean and agile supply chain (see Chapter 13) as the following case example of Tesco illustrates. 

While companies attempted to implement best practices over the last 30 years, they are now grappling with the fact that many Y2K projects built an efficient supply chain without resiliency. These investments made the supply chain strong, but not agile. Today, most companies have processes that can respond, but cannot adapt. They are too rigid. They cannot sense and adapt to market shifts. This is the basis of the drive to create market-driven value networks. 

Go slow to go fast. One of the most important lessons that we hope companies can learn from this chapter is that snp-ply chain transitions take multiple years. Seagate built agility in their supply chain over 15 years of concentrated redefinition of manufacturing processes. Procter Gamble reorganized supply processes to report to one leader three decades ago. Many companies limit potential by focusing on a quick implementation. 

As companies answer these questions and build their supply chain strategies, it is time to look forward. We can learn from history, but need to forge the path forward to drive differentiation. Before we can run the race, we must train. This training requires behavioral modification in three areas building supply chain agility, learning how to listen and learn, and valuing process innovation. 

Supply chain integration in a virtual environment considered the process by which suppliers, partners, and customers within a shared market space collabora-tively plan, implement, and manage the flow of information, services, and products along the supply chain in a way that improves business operations in terms of speed, agility, real-time control, or customer response (Liu et al. 2008). 

A MTO strategy as shown in Fig. 4.14 implies that the CODP is positioned upstream in the value adding process. This indicates a short lean part and a long agile part of the supply chain. Therefore, the supply chain reflects a high degree of... 

Table 6.3 shows manufacturing strategies in combination with both the make decision and the time frame in which a product is completed and produced. Lean strategic supply chain orientation show more make-to-stock product processes, whereas the agile strategic supply chain shows more make-to-order product processes. 

Stocked product processes, whereas agile strategic supply chain orientation favors more source make-to-order product processes or engineer-to-order product processes. 

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