An Action Study

TaylorMade mns the applications on Hewlett-Packard NT and Unix servers and Oracle databases on Unix. The first two modules installed were for handling demand planning and procurement collaboration with ten suppliers, mostly in Southeast Asia. The demand planner module lets the firm prepare collaborative forecasts based on inputs from internal data, retailers, suppliers, and third-party companies. The company uses this information to ensure that the parts necessary for the assembly of the golf clubs are made and delivered on time. Suppliers have been particularly pleased with the system as they can now view what is happening, particularly in terms of incoming orders, and plan accordingly. 

Let us now reconsider the underlying premises behind what has been discussed. First, a company is never going to leave Level 2 if it is still pursuing a push mentality. The culture must move to a pull mentality, where everyone thinks in terms of Let s make what we sell. (or what the customer wants), and not You better sell what we make. The latter orientation only leads to excess inventories, most of which are disposed of at discounted prices, and include high carrying costs. The former brings the supply chain in synchronization with what is happening in the marketplace. 

In summary, lights appear at the end of the supply chain tunnel with the use of APS, as supply chain and demand chain information are linked to provide a much clearer picture of network needs. Constraints are eliminated through joint efforts, strategic imperatives are met through the 

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