Partnership model emerging

If your so-called supply chain partnership failed to live up to expectations, as so many do, it s probably because you never stated your expectations in the first place. 

By partnering with a logistics provider, we ve taken a quantum leap in improving our distribution process and customer service. 

Supply chain participants find partnership arrangements to be mutually advantageous. With fewer competitors, surviving suppliers have greater 

Distributors moving into product assembly, providing subsystems rather than components 

Modular assembly of automobiles with the assembler inside the customer s final assembly plant 

Manufacturers distribution centers shipping smaller orders direct to retail customer stores, rather than customer-distribution centers 

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In Chapter 15 we described the transformation to the emerging partnership model — shrinking participants and fewer echelons. This has begun or continues at an accelerating pace in many industries. It should be considered a wake-up call that the pa to success will lie in developing partnerships. As the quotation notes, many have much to learn about this process. To the extent the trend is at work in a particular industry, companies in that industry face imperatives if they are to survive. These imperatives include the following ... 

The concept of core competency is important to SCM. Traditional views of roles in the supply chain are giving way to new views. Chapter 18 describes the emerging model for supply chain partnerships. The traditional and emerging models reflect the impact of both cost reduction and competence building in the evolution of supply chain partnerships. 

In the emerging model, procurement departments must act more strategically. We described their traditional role in Chapter 14. The procurement function is often the interface between supply chain partners, and partnerships will make new demands on the fxmction. Dave Malmberg of CGR Management Consultants has defined four stages marking the evolution of the procurement function s role. 

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