Supply chain customer-centric

A single product line might also have two different supply chains tailored to different customer segments. In the case of Baker, Product Line A might be a candidate for customer-centric supply chains. It is making modest profits in two segments. Perhaps designing supply chains for each could increase these profits. 

Innovation and learning perspective Shifting to product- or customer-centric supply chains offers the chance to learn new skills Often, the shift is accompanied by the need for cross-training... 

Productcentric supply chain Supply chains or organizations whose construct centers on the production of products. Alternatives are functional and customer-centric supply chains. 

The customer-centric supply chain Starts with customers... 

Shifting to product- or customer-centric supply chains offers the chance to learn new skills. 

Other well-known supply chains like those of Wal-Mart and Dell use operations-centric supply chains. Wal-Mart negotiates hard for low-cost sources of supply in an effort to offer customers low prices. Make-to-order manufacturers such as Dell stmcture their operations to make this model work. Bombardier Transportation, described in Section 24.2, pursued a product-centric approach, creating a supply chain for each of its products and services in its aftermarket business. 

From supplier-centric to customer-centric The design of customer-driven supply chains Market understanding customer insight... 

A supply chain strategy process to move towards a customer centric operation. 

In this book, a framework was also developed to allow companies to assess their current state in light of demand driven supply chain concepts, and identify the desired future state in a 1 year horizon. The framework was applied to three supply chain operations of a CPG company in different countries as part of the methodology evaluation. Results indicated that one operation is currently close to an optimized push operation (level 2 out of 5), and the other two operations are close to a basic push operation (level 1 out of 5), revealing that there are clear opportunities to implement the demand driven supply chain concepts to move towards a more customer centric operation. 

This book aims to identify and describe the key components of demand driven supply chains, and based on these components, develop a structured and integrated assessment framework that companies can use to assess their current and desired future supply chain states in light of the Demand Driven Supply Chain (DDSC) concepts, and to define a supply chain strategy to move towards a customer centric operation, cost effectively. 

The demanding customer or customer segment is king in this sphere. Customer requirements place special demands on the supply chain for one of the products. This market-centric sphere takes into account Product I s unique requirements. Getting the supply chain right for customers is critical to success. 

Table 4.2 listed 16 supply chain types that form a supply chain spectrum. The spectrum was developed by observation of actual supply chains and classifying them into the 16 types. Table 9.3 lists these and comments on their centricity. Three types at the bottom (1 through 3) have no supply chain strategy at all. Most types seek operational excellence, the traditional goal of supply chain improvement. Types 15 and 16 are market centric, designed to be nimble in the face of changing customer requirements and new opportunities. 

Demand chain Market centric Customer demands drive supply chain design to meet dominant customer requirements... 

Customer-centric alternative form tailored supply chains according to market segments. There could be one or more supply chains organized around segments. 

Another way to institutionalize supply chain change is to establish these enabling processes. An enabling process combines the strength of functional depth with the speed and flexibility of tailored product-centric or customer-centric processes. Enable processes are to supply chain design what concrete is to highways. They make the road from one place to another much smoother. 

Product- centric organization An organization structure built around different product lines. Preferred in cases of multiple products with different technologies, homogeneous customer bases, capital intensive, and cost-driven businesses. (Adapted from Handbook of Supply Chain Management)... 

While many supply chains are product centric, the mainstay of ET s supply chain is knowledge and technology and products are unique for every order. Therefore, the company also works with a large number of customers and suppliers. It continuously updates its customer portfolio to ensure that there are expected orders up to six month in advance. Similarly, it also selects supphers dynamically according to the current requirements. The main supplier selection criteria are references and observations as well as test runs. 

The selection need not be the same for all partners in the supply chain. For example, our Process could find cellular approaches of no value since it is relatively capital-intensive. A functional design around its core process is the best choice. Old Line may decide a product-centric arrangement makes the most sense, and High Tech might employ a customer-centric cell arrangement to cater to different requirements among its customer segments. 

---