Alignment supply chain process

Aligning Supply Chain Processes With Manufacturing Strategies... 

Fifth Shift in the Supply Chain Process Align the Supply Chain Market to Market. Become Market Driven... 

For manufacturers and retailers, supply chain is business. The S OP process aligns the organization to the business strategy. However, as shown in Figure 5.7, one of the issues is clarity of business strategy and the understanding of supply chain processes by the executive teams. 

In the first three decades of supply chain process evolution, demand was primarily used vertically within a function. It was seldom used to stretch horizontally to align the value network. In the definition of... 

Three important ENABLE processes in this category are described here. The first, align supply chain unit plan with financial plan, assures that the supply chain plan uses the same assumptions as company financial plans. The alignment includes both the numbers generated by the plan as well as the related assumptions. 

Stavrulaki, E., Davis, M. (2010). Aligning products with supply chain processes and strategy. International Journal of Logistics Management, 21(1), 127-151. 

What is meant by the term alignment in relation to supply chain processes Why is alignment important in setting a strategy for a given supply chain ... 

We refer to these types of relationships as business to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C) accordingly. In section 1.2.2 of Chapter 1, we referred to the need to integrate supply chain processes so that they are aligned towards end-customer needs. In this sense, B2B integration should be aligned towards the ultimate B2C process. 

Of course, performance metrics must be changed to reflect process performance across the supply chain, and rewards and incentives must be aligned to these metrics in order to effect change. Each of the eight processes wUl now be described. 

To help the reader not familiar with supply chain vernacular, here we start with a definition. For the purposes of this book, we define the term supply chain as "the process of organizational alignment to effectively manage the flows of cash, product, and information from the customer s customer to the supplier s supplier."... 

The change in demand forecasting processes is a major change management hnrdle for the traditional supply chain. The shift from a focus on history to a focus on market drivers, or to align on demand assumptions versus debating nnmbers, is a cnltural redefinition. 

Consistent definitions matter. When it comes to supply chain benchmarking, the basics matter. Definitions, granularity, and frequency of the process need to align for data to be relevant. 

To compensate, Dell shifts demand at the point of sale. For example, if you went online to the Dell website to purchase a Dell Inspiron 15 laptop, you may find a sales promotion pop-up that says, For today and today only you can purchase a Dell Inspiron 17 laptop with a bigger screen, more processing capacity, bigger hard drive with expanded memory, as well as additional software for a reduced price. Consider a likely scenario of under-forecasted demand for key components for the Dell Inspiron 15 laptop. To align the supply chain, Dell actively shifts demand by offering a sales promotion to move a customer from the Inspiron 15 laptop to the Inspiron 17 laptop. Its goal was not to lose a sale or delay a shipment, but increase profitability. 

As inventory levels climbed during the first part of 2009, tension grew in supply chain discussions, and horizontal processes (discussed in Chapter 5) grew in importance. This was the most problematic— even desperate—for some companies that defined high-asset utilization as supply chain excellence. Those companies that rewarded high-asset utilization took five times longer to sense the downturn and align their supply chains. 

The last step of the framework is to develop a supply chain strategy that will allow the company to identify the steps required to become a demand driven supply chain. This development should be performed aligned with the company strategic business planning process, as supply chain is a key enabler of business improvement and can help the company achieve top level business goals like revenue growth, increase asset utilization and profitability, improve customer service, just to name a few examples. 

Supply chain strategy is defined aligning product categories and supply chain functions as follow Physical (efficient process) for functional products and Market (responsiveness) for innovative products. 

Senior management supports PLM process aligned across the entire supply chain (from suppliers to customers) and not only inside the organization. 

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