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Chapter 18  
Supply Chain Management

 

Chapter Overview

Chapter 18 is devoted to supply chain management, an integrative management framework that takes a broader view at value adding processes than the view restricted to one business.  Value is added by a variety of manufacturers and services. In many situations, value can be enhanced if the customers and suppliers within a supply chain communicate more and share information with each other. This level of communication and a broad perspective on problem solving forms the basis for supply change management.

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Chapter  Resources

Esources

Esource   18.1  Ashley Ward Manufacturing stresses its abilities to not only manufacture precisely what the customer wants, but build a relationship that is described as a partnership, not just a buyer and a supplier.  A glance at what Ashley Ward's broad customer base says about their service provides evidence that Ashley Ward sells a capability to do whatever the customer wants, and does not define its capability in specific product terms. With customers that range from a producer of musical instruments to plumbing fixtures, flexibility is important.  
Esource 18.2 Few businesses depend on suppliers as much as retail giant Wal-Mart.  Supplier actions and behaviors can reflect on public perception of the customer. As a result, Wal-Mart has developed sophisticated guidelines that dictate supplier behavior. These guidelines are available for view at Wal-Mart's Supplier Standards.
Esource 18.3  iTenders.com auctions a variety of services to business customers.  FreeMarkets.com offers software, as well as buying and supplying services to hundreds of companies in wide spectrum of industries.  

Supplementary Readings 

Supplementary Reading  18.1 L.L.Bean Delivers the Goods (FastCompany, Issue 10) provides a description of how L.L. Bean continues to provide a model of retail delivery quality.
Supplementary 
Reading 18.2
Why Detroit Is Going to Pieces (Business Week, September 3, 2001) describes how U.S. auto manufacturers are transitioning from outsourcing components from suppliers to outsourcing entire product modules.
Supplementary 
Reading 18.3
What's with all the Warehouses? (Business Week, November 1, 1999) examines what happens to warehousing as Ecomerce grows. 
Supplementary 
Reading 18.4
Collaboration and cooperation are critical components of SCM.  Global Enabled Supply Chain Series: Logistics (Murphree, J., iSource (http:www.isource.com) January, 2002 article provides examples of how collaborative business partners in transportation and logistics drastically reduce costs.

Interactive Models 

Interactive Model 18.1 

The Risk Pooling Interactive Model
The Risk Pooling Interactive Model allows the user to experiment with variables that affect the risk pooling phenomenon in a supply chain.  The user can select from three alternative inventory location strategies, and modify the desired service levels, and get immediate feedback on the amount of inventory required in the supply chain to meet the strategy's goals.

Links to Operations On Site Companies

Operations On Site 18.1 Chematch provides B2B services in the chemical industry.

 

OM Exploration

Check it out: Internet Reference Sites for Chapter 

 
B2B Today.com Supply Chain Council
Logistics World  
Institute for Supply Management  

OM in Action 

OM in Action  18.1 The increased emphasis on supply chain management has been met with a wide array of support services supplying expertise and software. Demand Solutions is one such firm. Examine the Demand Solutions website.
a.  What aspects of the Demand Solution software are specifically designed for enhancing supply chain effectiveness? How will that enhancement happen?
b.  Find the website of another supply chain management solution provider. How does its offerings compare to Demand Solutions?

Online Business Tours 

Online Business Tour 18.1 For many industries, raw material inputs consist of commodity products. This is particularly true for food producers. Take the short Royal Cake Company tour.  Identify the raw materials required for the oatmeal cookie and creme filling.  

a. Identify an online bulk source for each of these raw materials. 
b. Are there suppliers that can supply all raw materials?  What would be the advantages and disadvantages of using that supplier?

A Letter from the Top 

Letter from the Top 18.1

Read Nike's 2001 Letter to shareholders, available in the 2001 annual report.  Chairman and CEO Philip Knight mentions a massive three-year overhaul of the Nike supply chain.

a. How could supply chain problems contribute to the lack of performance Knight describes in his letter? What might improve as the supply chain management is improved.

b. In his letter, Knight mentions that Nike did "not match orders and production well." What does he mean by this statement? What implications might the supply chain overhaul have for matching "orders and production?"

Putting It All Together:  A Virtual Case Study 

Putting It all Together 18.1:  Used equipment is becoming much more popular as an alternative for businesses that need to expand or upgrade. In "Cisco's Worst Nightmare (and Sun's and IBM's and Nortel's and ...), Fortune, February 4, 2002 some of the pros and cons are discussed.  Clearly there is and advantage to the used equipment seller and, if things go well, to the buyer.  The producer of new products, however, must adjust. Check out Gray Market Booms for IT, Telecommunications Gear, Purchasing Magazine, April 18, 2002 for cautions directed at purchasing managers.  "Victims" of gray market competition have created an anti-gray market alliance. Explore their website.  Visit the Asset Recovery Center and one of its competitors, such as Network Hardware Resale or Dovebid

a. What are the dangers of buying used equipment? What precautions should be taken?
b. From an ecological or "green" perspective, why is a used market for equipment beneficial? Is a market for used equipment really a "gray" market? How does the sale of used computer equipment differ from the sale of used cars or other industrial equipment?
c. How should manufacturers of new equipment deal with the influx of competition from used equipment sales? Does it make sense for them to deny service on that equipment?

Additional Reading

Additional 
Reading 18.1
A Supply Chain Wiz Comes Back Wiser, Business Week, June 3, 2002