This document discusses optimizing supply chain performance across organizations. It argues that to be competitive, companies need to focus on agility, innovation, and partnerships beyond just cost reduction. The supply chain extends beyond a single organization's control and requires information sharing and collaboration between partners. Properly managing objectives and risks requires balancing competing goals like inventory levels, costs, and customer satisfaction both within and across organizations. The document advocates for collaborative planning between suppliers and retailers to improve forecasting and replenishment and make the supply chain more efficient.
Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Research 2012-2013salleijn
Over the last twelve years that we have conducted the Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Survey, the market for SRM has steadily grown and companies continue today to invest in these critical applications. The growth in this market is a testament to the importance of this survey.
In addition to an overview of the major players in the market, the vendor survey shares the experiences, issues and questions that we see daily as procurement professionals implementing and optimizing SRM. Within the document, our expert colleagues share their views and experiences on SRM, resulting in cutting-edge opinion that offers a unique perspective on different facets of SRM. Major themes include the Seven Strategies for Future Procurement, Procurement and Sustainability, Usability and Demand Management, Supply Chain Finance and Procurement and Innovation.
Furthermore, the reader can find vendor profiles describing the participating vendors in greater detail. The descriptions cover information related to their specialization, the total scope of their offering, their distinguishing characteristics compared to competitors, the types of solutions offered (SaaS/In-house etc.), implementations and markets targeted.
Giles, from his immense experience in areas of procurement has learned that traditional forms of buyer-seller relationship management have run their course and are no longer delivering value that should be expected. Check this presentation, which is brought to you by the FMCG Confext team. Visit www.fmcgconfex.com to know more on the event.
Time to Tell Your CPOs to Collaborate with SuppliersMelih ÖZCANLI
Time to Tell Your CPOs to Collaborate with Suppliers
Companies want value, and they want their chief procurement officers (CPOs) to deliver it. How can CPOs get the job done? By identifying and then collaborating with their key suppliers.
2012, A.T. Kearney, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mike Hales, partner, Chicago mike.hales@atkearney.com
Hendrik Disteldorf, principal, New York hendrik.disteldorf@atkearney.com
Oliver Zeranski, principal, New York oliver.zeranski@atkearney.com

The Importance of Supply Network Development and Firm’s Capabilities in Build...YogeshIJTSRD
This paper discusses the advantages and importance of supply chain network development and firm’s capability to enhance competitive advantage. Supplier network supply network plays an importance role for the company so that they will be able to play a more active role and optimal in the management and operation of the network of suppliers that include product design, production, suppliers, marketing and distribution. In large companies, a strong distribution network is needed, as well as in small and medium scale companies. Companies are required distribution network that is robust in the entire territory of Indonesia. To succeed in this objective, Companies need a distribution strategy, which is an area of marketing strategy aimed primarily at increasing sales and the number of customers to support sustainable growth. Robertus Sigit Haribowo Lukito | Lena Ellitan "The Importance of Supply Network Development and Firm’s Capabilities in Building Business Performance: A Theoretical Review" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-3 , April 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd39903.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/strategic-management/39903/the-importance-of-supply-network-development-and-firm’s-capabilities-in-building-business-performance-a-theoretical-review/robertus-sigit-haribowo-lukito
Supplier Relationship Management takes traditional sourcing methods to the next level. While the sourcing process uses Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and templated one-way communications to select suppliers and derive the most upfront value for contracted services or products, SRM uses processes, principles, communications and tools to help companies better manage their existing suppliers within all areas of the company during the entire supplier lifecycle.
Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Research 2012-2013salleijn
Over the last twelve years that we have conducted the Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Survey, the market for SRM has steadily grown and companies continue today to invest in these critical applications. The growth in this market is a testament to the importance of this survey.
In addition to an overview of the major players in the market, the vendor survey shares the experiences, issues and questions that we see daily as procurement professionals implementing and optimizing SRM. Within the document, our expert colleagues share their views and experiences on SRM, resulting in cutting-edge opinion that offers a unique perspective on different facets of SRM. Major themes include the Seven Strategies for Future Procurement, Procurement and Sustainability, Usability and Demand Management, Supply Chain Finance and Procurement and Innovation.
Furthermore, the reader can find vendor profiles describing the participating vendors in greater detail. The descriptions cover information related to their specialization, the total scope of their offering, their distinguishing characteristics compared to competitors, the types of solutions offered (SaaS/In-house etc.), implementations and markets targeted.
Giles, from his immense experience in areas of procurement has learned that traditional forms of buyer-seller relationship management have run their course and are no longer delivering value that should be expected. Check this presentation, which is brought to you by the FMCG Confext team. Visit www.fmcgconfex.com to know more on the event.
Time to Tell Your CPOs to Collaborate with SuppliersMelih ÖZCANLI
Time to Tell Your CPOs to Collaborate with Suppliers
Companies want value, and they want their chief procurement officers (CPOs) to deliver it. How can CPOs get the job done? By identifying and then collaborating with their key suppliers.
2012, A.T. Kearney, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mike Hales, partner, Chicago mike.hales@atkearney.com
Hendrik Disteldorf, principal, New York hendrik.disteldorf@atkearney.com
Oliver Zeranski, principal, New York oliver.zeranski@atkearney.com

The Importance of Supply Network Development and Firm’s Capabilities in Build...YogeshIJTSRD
This paper discusses the advantages and importance of supply chain network development and firm’s capability to enhance competitive advantage. Supplier network supply network plays an importance role for the company so that they will be able to play a more active role and optimal in the management and operation of the network of suppliers that include product design, production, suppliers, marketing and distribution. In large companies, a strong distribution network is needed, as well as in small and medium scale companies. Companies are required distribution network that is robust in the entire territory of Indonesia. To succeed in this objective, Companies need a distribution strategy, which is an area of marketing strategy aimed primarily at increasing sales and the number of customers to support sustainable growth. Robertus Sigit Haribowo Lukito | Lena Ellitan "The Importance of Supply Network Development and Firm’s Capabilities in Building Business Performance: A Theoretical Review" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-3 , April 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd39903.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/strategic-management/39903/the-importance-of-supply-network-development-and-firm’s-capabilities-in-building-business-performance-a-theoretical-review/robertus-sigit-haribowo-lukito
Supplier Relationship Management takes traditional sourcing methods to the next level. While the sourcing process uses Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and templated one-way communications to select suppliers and derive the most upfront value for contracted services or products, SRM uses processes, principles, communications and tools to help companies better manage their existing suppliers within all areas of the company during the entire supplier lifecycle.
Supplier relationship management srm research 2013tdolder
Over the last twelve years that we have conducted the Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Survey, the market for SRM has steadily grown and companies continue today to invest in these critical applications. The growth in this market is a testament to the importance of this survey.
In addition to an overview of the major players in the market, the vendor survey shares the experiences, issues and questions that we see daily as procurement professionals implementing and optimizing SRM. Within the document, our expert colleagues share their views and experiences on SRM, resulting in cutting-edge opinion that offers a unique perspective on different facets of SRM. Major themes include the Seven Strategies for Future Procurement, Procurement and Sustainability, Usability and Demand Management, Supply Chain Finance and Procurement and Innovation.
Furthermore, the reader can find vendor profiles describing the participating vendors in greater detail. The descriptions cover information related to their specialization, the total scope of their offering, their distinguishing characteristics compared to competitors, the types of solutions offered (SaaS/In-house etc.), implementations and markets targeted.
Gaining Competitive Advantage through Supplier Collaboration and Supplier Rel...TraceGains
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to connect@tracegains.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Race to win, rather than race to the bottom!
Continued consolidation of the food supply base will lead to more powerful and assertive customers in some markets. These customers are placing increasing demand on the entire supply chain for reduced cost and higher levels of value delivery. While many companies focus on price reduction as a solution they soon realize that there is only so much supplier margin and they soon become in effective in trying to meet the increasing demands of the customer and company management. They also realize that there is a significant cost and time involved in changing and developing new suppliers.
The solution to increasing demand for value is to get business alignment across the entire supply chain. This requires value-based relationships will require substantial changes in behavior by the buyer and seller. This webinar will detail the need to establish clear processes through which buyers and suppliers interface and collaborate. The focus is on building and developing a Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) focus for your business.
Things covered in the seminar:
-How can a company build a process that delivers cost and value improvement Year on Year
Understanding the Supplier Relationship Management Process
-Identifying which suppliers are good candidates for SRM
-How to drive collaboration with suppliers
Supply Chain Integration and Firm Performance: The Food (Fast-Food) Delivery ...QUESTJOURNAL
ABSTRACT: Over the years, the concept of Supply Chain Integration (SCI) and its effect on firm performance has been an essential topic of interest in the field of Supply Chain Management (SCM). Previous research on SCI and firm performance concentrated much on the manufacturing industry with less focus on other fastgrowing industries. This research mainly focused on determining the impact of Supply Chain Integration on performance in the fast food delivery service industry. The firms were selected based on their size and frequency of deliveries they make to customers. The research was conducted in a metropolitan city in Turkey with a considerable number of fast food delivery firms and moreover, with customers whose demand for fast food is essentially high. The results of this study further compliment the growing evidence which depicts a positive relationship between SCI and firm performance. On the contrary, this research also contradicts some of the results of the earlier research on Supply Chain Integration.Analysis of the results and regression showed that internal integration is positively related to external integration and firm performance. However, the correlation coefficients between internal and external integration showed high relationship while the relationship between the internal integration and firm performance showed a very feeble relationship but was significantly related. Similarly, external integration significantly has a positive relationship with firm performance but their relationship was however weak but they were significantly related.
Designing a hybrid global sourcing strategy for triton labs case study reportSachin Mathews
Objective of the case is to analyse Triton’s current purchasing mechanisms and provide alternatives to Mrs. Donna Rock, who heads the Global Sourcing Task force in formulating a suitable hybrid sourcing policy. This includes providing suggestions both on the sourcing procedures as well as structuring the performance evaluation framework of such a policy.
The Club War Case Study Report by Sachin mathews Sachin Mathews
The objective of this study is to analyse Sam’s club and their current inefficiencies and provide suggestions to Mr.Jim who heads the reengineering team that can help his team formulate appropriate supply chain strategies in order to achieve lowest possible cost and attain greater competitive advantage. The paper provides a background of the current situation faced by club where the current inefficiencies are discussed and possible recommendations are then suggested.
This presentation was delivered at SIAL Food Show, Paris on 21st October, 2008. The presentation lets you get an insight on Indian Food Industries, key segments and entry strategy
Supplier relationship management srm research 2013tdolder
Over the last twelve years that we have conducted the Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Survey, the market for SRM has steadily grown and companies continue today to invest in these critical applications. The growth in this market is a testament to the importance of this survey.
In addition to an overview of the major players in the market, the vendor survey shares the experiences, issues and questions that we see daily as procurement professionals implementing and optimizing SRM. Within the document, our expert colleagues share their views and experiences on SRM, resulting in cutting-edge opinion that offers a unique perspective on different facets of SRM. Major themes include the Seven Strategies for Future Procurement, Procurement and Sustainability, Usability and Demand Management, Supply Chain Finance and Procurement and Innovation.
Furthermore, the reader can find vendor profiles describing the participating vendors in greater detail. The descriptions cover information related to their specialization, the total scope of their offering, their distinguishing characteristics compared to competitors, the types of solutions offered (SaaS/In-house etc.), implementations and markets targeted.
Gaining Competitive Advantage through Supplier Collaboration and Supplier Rel...TraceGains
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to connect@tracegains.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Race to win, rather than race to the bottom!
Continued consolidation of the food supply base will lead to more powerful and assertive customers in some markets. These customers are placing increasing demand on the entire supply chain for reduced cost and higher levels of value delivery. While many companies focus on price reduction as a solution they soon realize that there is only so much supplier margin and they soon become in effective in trying to meet the increasing demands of the customer and company management. They also realize that there is a significant cost and time involved in changing and developing new suppliers.
The solution to increasing demand for value is to get business alignment across the entire supply chain. This requires value-based relationships will require substantial changes in behavior by the buyer and seller. This webinar will detail the need to establish clear processes through which buyers and suppliers interface and collaborate. The focus is on building and developing a Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) focus for your business.
Things covered in the seminar:
-How can a company build a process that delivers cost and value improvement Year on Year
Understanding the Supplier Relationship Management Process
-Identifying which suppliers are good candidates for SRM
-How to drive collaboration with suppliers
Supply Chain Integration and Firm Performance: The Food (Fast-Food) Delivery ...QUESTJOURNAL
ABSTRACT: Over the years, the concept of Supply Chain Integration (SCI) and its effect on firm performance has been an essential topic of interest in the field of Supply Chain Management (SCM). Previous research on SCI and firm performance concentrated much on the manufacturing industry with less focus on other fastgrowing industries. This research mainly focused on determining the impact of Supply Chain Integration on performance in the fast food delivery service industry. The firms were selected based on their size and frequency of deliveries they make to customers. The research was conducted in a metropolitan city in Turkey with a considerable number of fast food delivery firms and moreover, with customers whose demand for fast food is essentially high. The results of this study further compliment the growing evidence which depicts a positive relationship between SCI and firm performance. On the contrary, this research also contradicts some of the results of the earlier research on Supply Chain Integration.Analysis of the results and regression showed that internal integration is positively related to external integration and firm performance. However, the correlation coefficients between internal and external integration showed high relationship while the relationship between the internal integration and firm performance showed a very feeble relationship but was significantly related. Similarly, external integration significantly has a positive relationship with firm performance but their relationship was however weak but they were significantly related.
Designing a hybrid global sourcing strategy for triton labs case study reportSachin Mathews
Objective of the case is to analyse Triton’s current purchasing mechanisms and provide alternatives to Mrs. Donna Rock, who heads the Global Sourcing Task force in formulating a suitable hybrid sourcing policy. This includes providing suggestions both on the sourcing procedures as well as structuring the performance evaluation framework of such a policy.
The Club War Case Study Report by Sachin mathews Sachin Mathews
The objective of this study is to analyse Sam’s club and their current inefficiencies and provide suggestions to Mr.Jim who heads the reengineering team that can help his team formulate appropriate supply chain strategies in order to achieve lowest possible cost and attain greater competitive advantage. The paper provides a background of the current situation faced by club where the current inefficiencies are discussed and possible recommendations are then suggested.
This presentation was delivered at SIAL Food Show, Paris on 21st October, 2008. The presentation lets you get an insight on Indian Food Industries, key segments and entry strategy
Challenges and Solutions to Food SecuritySanjay Sethi
Presented at 3rd International Conference on Global Warming - Food Security organised by Environment Protection & Development Authority, Ras al Khaimah
FICCI - Technopak Report On Indian Food IndustrySanjay Sethi
Report prepared by Sanjay Sethi, Vice President - Food and Agriculture, Technopak Advisors in association with FICCI and released by Minister of Food Processing Industries at Food World, Mumbai
Today only one in three business leaders are satisfied with their supply chain. One of the issues is the lack of agility. In this report, we share case studies on how to improve supply chain agility. This report first defines supply chain agility and then shares case studies of agility techniques that work to improve the ability to deliver the same cost, quality and customer service given the rising levels of demand and supply volatility. Each case study is supported by the Supply Chains to Admire financial analysis.
While agility is bandied about in supply chain discussions, it is often meaningless because companies do not define and execute agility strategies. In this report, we share case studies of companies successfully implementing agility strategies.
Executive Summary
The term ‘supply chain finance’ has different definitions on each continent. In Europe, it is often used to describe ‘tax efficiency’, or the design of the supply chain to reduce the burden of taxation of cross-border shipments. In many procurement organizations the term is often used to describe the use of favorable capital rates to finance downstream trade. In this study the focus is on the management of costs by either effectiveness of a Supply Chain Finance team or Supply Chain Center of Excellence, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes, Cost-to-Serve Analysis and Supplier Development efforts.
For the supply chain leader, managing costs is job one. It is easier said than done. The supply chain is a complex system with interrelationships between growth, inventory, cost and complexity. Cross-functional processes, organizational focus, and access to data are critical to align and maintain cost effectiveness in this complex system called supply chain. We term this model the Supply Chain Effective Frontier. This is shown in Figure 2. When companies operate on the Supply Chain Effective Frontier they maximize the value of the firm . We measure value by either Price to Tangible Book Value or Market Capitalization.
Figure 2. Supply Chain Effective Frontier
As will be shown in this report, managing costs is a struggle for most companies. While 88% of companies have implemented Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), the hard work of process evolution and maturity continues. In this report we share the current state of supply chains in managing costs, and then take a look at the processes and organizational design factors to evaluate the impact on cost management.
Conquering the Supply Chain Effective Frontier - 27 NOV 2017 - ReportLora Cecere
Executive Overview
Over the course of the last decade, retailers made more progress on costs and inventory turns than manufacturers. In the rush for technology adoption, we commonly find companies overstating what is possible because they are not clear on the historical trends, and often mistakenly coached to overcommit by industry consultants to justify technology investments.
In studying supply chain metrics, we find that each industry has a definitive pattern. Few are linear. To set reasonable goals, the definitions need to be very industry specific. That is the goal of this report.
In developing supply chain strategy, one of the first objectives is defining what is possible. This involves delineating the metrics, establishing reasonable targets, and rates of improvement. In the review of strategy documents for clients, we find that most companies are not clear on any of these critical sets of assumptions. This report is designed to help. We start with the definition of metrics and then share industry progress for the period of 2006-2016. This report ends with recommendations and conclusions.
• Report Details: This report is based on the analysis of orbit chart charts showing year-over-year supply chain performance at the intersection of operating margin and inventory turns for twenty industries for the period of 2006-2016. The goal is to help supply chain leaders to understand what is possible.
• Objective: As supply chain leaders attempt to define supply chain excellence, they need guidance on industry supply chain performance and overall trends for benchmarking. The goal is to help supply chain leaders make better decisions.
• Hypothesis: Each industry is unique and a good supply chain has different characteristics based upon the specific industry it is in, the product it creates and the customers it serves. Our aim is to help supply chain leaders understand relative industry performance. As shown in this report, each individual industry is charting a unique path on supply chain performance.
Supply Chain Metrics That Matter: A Focus on the Retail Industry - 16 FEB 2017Lora Cecere
Report Details: This report is based on analysis of financial balance sheet and income statement data within the Retail industry, for the period of 2006-2015. The data is collected from YCharts.
Objective: To use financial balance sheet and income statement data to better understand the state of Grocery Retailers' and Mass Merchants' supply chains and to determine which companies’ supply chains did the best on the delivery of a portfolio of metrics over the last decade.
Highlight: During the Great Recession retailers faced strong declines in spending. It was a critical time, but for many it was an opportunity to emerge stronger. Those who redefined their stores for the dollar-conscious customer or built new and innovative formats while driving supply chain innovation, drove strong balance sheet results. Others learned that doing traditional retail more efficiently was not enough.
Orchestrating a Supply Chain Competitive EdgeCognizant
An effective supply chain is the key to creating business value. This paper will help you benchmark your performance today and take a methodical organizational approach to improving your supply chain effectiveness.
Conquering the Supply Chain Effective FrontierLora Cecere
Conquering the Supply Chain Effective Frontier - A Handbook for the Value Chain Leader to Manage Trade-offs in Defining Supply Chain Excellence
Supply chain practices are nearing their third decade of maturation. The term supply chain excellence is bandied about by leaders, consultants and technology providers, but there is no alignment on what it means.
Conventional systems of measurement for supply chain excellence are problematic. In this report, we share insights gained during interviews with 75 supply chain pioneers. Based on their feedback we created a new framework, that we define here as the Supply Chain Effective Frontier, for supply chain leaders to use to determine supply chain excellence. This methodology is based on publicly available financial balance sheet data grouped into four sets of supply chain ratios: growth, profitability, cycle, and complexity.
We believe that supply chain excellence is best defined as the alignment of the supply chain team to deliver results to meet and exceed the requirements of the business strategy. This requires a clear vision and cross-functional coordination and alignment over a multi-year road map. It needs to be holistic. A supply chain is a complex system with increasing business complexity. The analysis needs to facilitate a clear understanding of trade-offs embedded in day-to-day decision making. It is this clarity that we find missing in many teams that we work with, and it is for this reason we wrote this report.
Retailers today are faced with unprecedented challenges ranging from shifting retail formats, overabundance of consumer choice, fast-changing technology, greater focus on quality and price to a tough economic climate. The result is that those who are not constantly innovating run the risk of falling behind. This white paper looks at the top five supply chain challenges that retailers face today and maps out a series of strategies to address these challenges based on research and direct experience in supporting retailers to maintain a competitive advantage in a highly competitive market.
Supply Chain Metrics That Matter: A Focus on Chemical, and Oil & Gas Companie...Lora Cecere
Executive Overview
Chemical supply chains serve global markets and multiple industries at varying levels of maturity. Over the last decade, no company stands out as a leader. The industry is stuck unable to make significant improvement on margin, inventory and asset utilization. The facts run counter to traditional beliefs. In most companies, there is a pervasive belief that Chemical and Oil and Gas companies implemented new technologies, and evolved processes to drive improved balance sheet results. As will be shown in this report, this is not true.
Why did this happen? The focus of the chemical companies remains functional and inside-out. The industry is slow to build adaptive networks and even slower to adopt demand-driven processes. This is in sharp contrast to an industry like consumer electronics where the thrusts and changes were swift and direct. To survive, these companies adopted new processes and technologies at a quicker rate than those in the Chemical, and Oil and Gas industries.
BASF wins the Supply Chains to Admire award while Statoil becomes a finalist. To help the industry to understand the current state and benchmark current processes, here we share insights.
The Race for Growth
The chemical industry experienced a post-recessionary boom with growth rates of 11% in the period of 2010-2012. In the recent three years, the growth rate has slowed to -1%. These recent growth rates were greatly affected by the boon and slowing of the Chinese markets and by the ups and down in crude. Over the period, AgroSciences and Specialty chemicals experienced the highest growth rates of the sector.
With the dramatic impact of the economy of growth and industry sector performance, one would think that the supply chain leaders of this sector would be aggressively pursuing market-driven supply chain practices to forecast based on market indicators and translate channel demand to supply. This is not the case. These processes remain very supply-centered with no chemical company driving market-driven programs.
Supply Chain Metrics That Matter: A Focus on the High-Tech Industry - 2016Lora Cecere
Executive Overview
High-Tech supply chains serve global markets with regional preferences. They include some of the most advanced processes and strongest supply chain leadership across all industries. As a result, the value chain made more progress than others in the course of the last decade.
Unlike other value chains, all four segments of this value chain improved inventory turns. It was through hard work, network design, and a focus on planning. While other industries implemented supply chain planning and then turned to spreadsheets, this industry got good at managing inventories. The stakes were higher. As inventories sit in the channel for the High-Tech industry, prices fall. As a result, this industry has developed some of the best inventory practices across all industries.
On the flip-side, the lack of growth and the declining margins of the Contract Manufacturing industry is a risk for this value chain. Within the High-Tech value chain, Contract Manufacturing is the weak link.
The industry will drive the autonomous supply chain. These leaders will make the digital pivot first. With some of the earliest technology adopters, and with more to gain from the adoption of technology, look for companies like Apple, Cisco, Dell, EMC, Emerson, Intel, and Samsung to drive cloud-based computing, cognitive computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), sensor development, and prescriptive analytics. The industry is also driving a shift through wide adoption and use of Open Source code from the Apache Software Foundation. These manufacturing leaders will pave the way for others. Their ability to lead will drive cross-industry demand and growth agendas.
We hope that this report is a useful guide for companies in other industries to understand the impact of technology adoption on supply chain excellence.
Driving a Customer-Centric Supply Chain - 7 NOV 2016Lora Cecere
Report Details: The research for this report was conducted via an online survey from August 12 - October 14, 2016. Surveys were conducted among Manufacturers, Wholesalers/Distributors/Co-operatives and Third-Party Logistics Providers (n=56).
Objective: To determine how companies build a customer-centric supply chain and how well it is working for them.
Highlight: In this study, 80% of companies have a customer-centric strategy; yet the majority (54%) state that there is room for improvement to drive performance changes in their supply chain. Companies struggle to drive alignment and build constancy of purpose.
The purpose of this assignment is for you to explore the theoretic.docxssusera34210
The purpose of this assignment is for you to explore the theoretical and practical aspects of the implementation of the supply chain, and discuss whether the principles stated in the article are practical in its implementation.
· Students are expected to exhibit the following competences:
· Knowledge and understanding of key concepts,
· Analysis and level of argument,
· Extent of reading and references used,
· Structure and presentation of the submission, writing style etc.
· Require supply chain journal, article, book which is less than 5 years from 2013 for reference
Criteria Need
Proficient introduction that states background information, question, topic and all subtopics in proper order. Thesis is clear and arguable statement of position. Paper is well researched in detail with accurate & critical evidence from a variety of sources that is properly cited. Consistent connections made between evidence, subtopics, arguments & showing good analysis. Clear and logical subtopic order that supports the answers with good transitions b/w paragraphs. Good summary of topic, and all subtopics with clear concluding ideas. Paper is clear, with mostly proper grammar, spelling and paragraphing, however, with some minor errors. Consistent & correct format inserted to validate evidence. Proper Harvard format used in alphabetical order with al sources shown and a variety of sources.
www.scmr.com Te n C l a s s i c s f r o m S u p p l y C h a i n M a n a g e m e n t R e v i e w 3
David L. Anderson, Frank F. Britt, and
Donavon J. Favre
When this article was published, David
L. Anderson and Donavon J. Favre were
consultants in Andersen Consulting’s
Strategic Services Logistics Practice.
Frank F. Britt, an alumnus of that
practice, was Vice President of Marketing
and Merchandising at Streamline Inc.
The most requested article in the
10-year history of Supply Chain
Management Review was one that
appeared in our very first issue
in the spring of 1997. Written by
experts from the respected Logistics
practice of Andersen Consulting (now
Accenture), “The Seven Principles
of Supply Chain Management,”
layed out a clear and compelling
case for excellence in supply chain
management. The insights provided
here remain remarkably fresh ten
years later.
Managers increasingly fi nd themselves assigned the role of the rope in a very real tug of war—pulled one way by customers’ mounting demands and the opposite way by the company’s need for growth
and profi tability. Many have discovered that they can keep the
rope from snapping and, in fact, achieve profi table growth by
treating supply chain management as a strategic variable.
These savvy managers recognize two important things. First,
they think about the supply chain as a whole—all the links
involved in managing the fl ow of products, services, and infor-
mation from their suppliers’ suppliers to their customers’ cus-
tomers (that is, channel customers, such a ...
Supply Chain Efficiency vs. EffectivenessHandshake
What's the difference between supply chain efficiency and effectiveness? Find out how businesses build supply chains that are both efficient and effective.
The Global Supply Chain Ups the Ante for Risk ManagementLora Cecere
Executive Summary
Unfortunately, supply chain disruptions are a fact of life for today’s global multinational company. The reasons are many. A risk management event can be triggered by natural events, geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty and demand/supply volatility.
Historically, the roots and genesis of risk management programs were based on attempts to reduce insurance costs. Today it is much, much more. The focus is on prevention, early sensing, and the execution of well-orchestrated plans to mitigate the impact of a disruption. Global supply chain leaders understand that designing and implementing a robust risk management practice is essential and fundamental to running a global business. The size of the bubble in Figure 2 indicates the relative level of risk today, and the colors correspond to the level of risk.
Figure 2. Comparison of Risk Drivers for the Past Five Years and Future Five Years
While product quality and supply chain visibility are declining but still important, the areas of operations complexity and the definition of globalization infrastructure is increasing. The areas of economic uncertainty, supplier reliability, along with demand volatility, are continued risk factors.
Over time, as supply chains morphed from regional to global multinational organizations, globalization and regulatory compliance increased. As a result, procurement has shifted from traditional programs focused solely on contract management, price and term negotiations, and supplier scorecards to include the evolution of supplier development, to manage product quality and multi-tier supplier relationships, in and across value chain relationships.
Today is a less certain world than a decade ago. Geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty and demand/supply volatility are rising. In addition, to spur growth companies are quick to add products to the item master, but slow to rationalize the portfolio. The rising complexity of items sold decreases the organization’s ability to forecast, and the longer lead times across multiple tiers of sourcing and supply increases the Bullwhip Effect’s impact (distortion of the demand signal across multiple tiers of the value network). As a result, there is a greater need for supplier development and supplier sensing to reduce supply risk. Inventory management and supplier financial sensing grow in importance with the increase in uncertainty.
Risk management is no longer narrowly focused: a technology, a response to a natural disaster, or improving supply chain visibility. Instead, it is more holistic with a focus on managing demand and supply variability cross-functionally and improving outcomes in an uncertain world.
In this report, we share insights on the current state of risk management programs while providing recommendations on what defines excellence.
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[Note: This is a partial preview. To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
Sustainability has become an increasingly critical topic as the world recognizes the need to protect our planet and its resources for future generations. Sustainability means meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It involves long-term planning and consideration of the consequences of our actions. The goal is to create strategies that ensure the long-term viability of People, Planet, and Profit.
Leading companies such as Nike, Toyota, and Siemens are prioritizing sustainable innovation in their business models, setting an example for others to follow. In this Sustainability training presentation, you will learn key concepts, principles, and practices of sustainability applicable across industries. This training aims to create awareness and educate employees, senior executives, consultants, and other key stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and supply chain partners, on the importance and implementation of sustainability.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts that form the foundation of sustainability within corporate environments.
2. Explore the sustainability implementation model, focusing on effective measures and reporting strategies to track and communicate sustainability efforts.
3. Identify and define best practices and critical success factors essential for achieving sustainability goals within organizations.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Key Concepts of Sustainability
2. Principles and Practices of Sustainability
3. Measures and Reporting in Sustainability
4. Sustainability Implementation & Best Practices
To download the complete presentation, visit: https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is buzzing with discussions after Google confirmed that around 2,500 leaked internal documents related to its Search feature are indeed authentic. The revelation has sparked significant concerns within the SEO community. The leaked documents were initially reported by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, igniting widespread analysis and discourse. For More Info:- https://news.arihantwebtech.com/search-disrupted-googles-leaked-documents-rock-the-seo-world/
2. Alan Eisman Alan Eisman serves as the National Director of Performance Management
Solutions at Information Builders. Prior to this position Alan ran Information
Builders’ NY Metro Region and advised many clients on a wide range of
business intelligence applications designed to improve operational
performance. Alan has over 20 years of senior management experience
in enterprise software including ERP, business intelligence, CRM, and
enterprise integration.
Prior to Information Builders, Alan held director and vice president positions
with JD Edwards, System Software Associates, and Information Management
Associates. He received his initial training in information systems with IBM.
Alan is a frequent speaker on topics like operational performance
management and translating strategy into execution. Alan is also certified
in the American Production and Inventory Control Society. (APICS)
3. Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary
3 Competing Objectives
4 Managing Risk
6 The Case for Sharing Information – Collaboration and Trust
7 Aligning Objectives Across Strategies and Perspectives
9 Operational Performance Management
10 Fostering a High Performance Collaborative Value Chain
11 A Framework for Operational Performance Management
12 Supply Chain Performance Scenario
14 The Agile Supply Chain
15 The Bottom Line – Performance Improvement and Cost Savings
4. Executive Summary
Historically when a firm (typically a manufacturer or distributor) referred to its supply chain it
primarily considered business processes directly within its control. Yes customers and vendors
mattered, but these factors could be better controlled since relatively fixed production schedules
were the norm, products were less commoditized, and local proximity mattered. Past initiatives
to improve supply chain performance primarily focused on cost reduction, efficiency, and
quality through total quality management (TQM), just in time (JIT), and six sigma initiatives.
To be competitive today emphasis needs to be placed on maximizing not only cost reduction,
but on greater agility, innovation, and partnerships.
According to Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter any activity in a firm’s value chain
that does not provide real competitive advantage is a candidate for outsourcing to a partner that
can provide a cost or value advantage.1 With this trend towards outsourcing more functions, the
supply chain extends well beyond the internal functions of an organization. While this presents
opportunities for competitive advantage and business agility it also presents a greater need for
communication, information sharing, trust, and shared goals between supply chain partners.
Figure 1 illustrates the virtual supply chain’s potential for optimal performance.
Figure 1.
Broadly defined, the term supply chain has come to mean value chain. Today supply chains exist
in every type of business and represent all processes related to creating and providing value to
stakeholders. For manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, a supply chain is the core business for
other types of organizations: healthcare, financial services, state and local government etc. – when
we think of the supply chain as the value chain the same principals apply.
1 Martin, Christopher. “Logistics and Supply Chain Management,” Pearson Education Limited, Third Edition 2005.
1 Information Builders
5. Each year business executives emphasize strategy and lay out broad goals and initiatives to
support corporate objectives. These lofty proclamations are put forth in annual reports, on
corporate Web sites, and in company newsletters and posters that are hung in every corridor
and by each watercooler. Dr. David Norton, who along with Dr. Robert Kaplan pioneered the
balanced scorecard approach to translating strategy into operational execution, was recently
quoted as saying, “Strategy is what differentiates a company, yet nine out of ten firms fail to
execute on their strategies.” Norton goes on to say, “The value gap defines the difference between
an organizations’ aspiration and its reality, how you close the gap is the essence of strategy.”2
A firm’s supply chain is the essence of how it delivers value to its customers. According to the
Supply Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR) the supply chain includes all processes related
to planning, sourcing, producing, delivering, and returning goods. Today innovation is more
tightly linked to these processes as supply chain partners must collaborate on ways to improve
efficiency and quality.
Therefore the stakes are much higher for how a firm differentiates itself from its competitors as
it seeks to achieve better alignment between its business strategy and operational execution.
The supply chain is in effect a firm’s value chain and largely embodies the actual translation of the
strategy into operations. This is made even more challenging, due to the need not only to create
true alignment within the enterprise, but also with each supply chain partner.
2 CMP. “Q&A: Scorecard Pioneer David Norton on Strategic Alignment,” Intelligent Enterprise, March 5, 2007.
2 Optimizing Performance Across Your Supply Chain
6. Competing Objectives
The reason that supply chain performance management is so challenging and critically important
lies in the very nature of the performance objectives themselves. For each objective there is an
equally important objective that if managed in isolation, will adversely impact another objective.
Figure 2.
For example perfect order achievement – defined as delivering all of the items in the right
quantities on time with zero defects – is critical to sustaining high rates of customer retention.
In order to create a buffer for fluctuations in real demand, safety stock inventory is needed at
various stages of the supply chain, but maintaining excess inventory directly conflicts with
objectives related to maximizing inventory turnover and return on assets. Cost metrics should
be broken down to the lowest level and by customer across the supply chain – known as ABC
costing – so that inefficiencies and individual costs associated with individual customer buying
patterns are identified. When this is done all players in the supply chain can treat cost reduction
and each supply chain sub-process as a shared goal to be balanced with other important goals.
Within an organization this challenge can be overcome with strong leadership that brings together
various functional groups to balance the objectives relative to overall corporate goals and business
strategies, which in turn is communicated so that everyone is on the same page. Then incentives
need to be aligned so each department benefits by contributing to corporate goals related to
profitability, return on assets, and stock price.
But with the extended supply chain the challenge is exponentially harder since each company,
while interdependent, answers to different shareholders.
3 Information Builders
7. Managing Risk
Managing objectives in order to achieve superior supply chain performance ends up being an
exercise in risk management because any breakdown in the supply chain represents a risk that
needs to be managed. We previously discussed safety stock, which in effect is one way of
mitigating the risk relative to variations in demand. Other examples of risk include the availability
of quality labor, supplier risks, commodity shortages and price fluctuations, obsolescence,
fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and plant breakdowns. A recent study of leading supply
chain companies by McKinsey3 asked company executives what they do to minimize the
increasing risk of supplying customers effectively. A large number of firms are looking towards
performance agreements with partners and better communication with customers regarding
potential concerns.
Figure 3.
So not only do we need to get various functions within an organization working to mitigate risk
and align goals, but we must extend this process of shared goals and collaboration across the
extended supply chain. When this is done then all players in the supply chain can treat managing
risk as a shared goal. They jointly develop forecasts and replenishment plans as well as processes for
monitoring, managing, and adjusting plans as demand changes.
3 McKinsey Quarterly. “Understanding Supply Chain Risk: A McKinsey Global Survey,” September 2006.
4 Optimizing Performance Across Your Supply Chain
8. Collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) is a concept that seeks cooperative
management of inventory by replenishing products throughout the supply chain. Information
is shared between suppliers and retailers in planning and satisfying customer demands. By
providing real-time visibility into demand and inventory, CFPR seeks to make the supply chain
process more efficient by:
I Decreasing inventory, logistics, and transportation
I Improving the flow of goods from raw material suppliers and manufacturers to retailers
I Quickly identifying discrepancies in forecasts, inventory, and order data so problems can be
corrected before they impact sales or profits
I Gaining up front agreements – SLA scorecards
I Sharing information and fostering collaboration
I Responding to and measuring issues as well as improving processes
One Information Builders client, a large distributor of office supplies and furniture, ships 640,000
order lines per day through 64 warehouses. Their largest customers are office supply superstores
like Staples. Drop shipping directly to the superstores’ commercial customers cuts out costly steps
in the supply chain. In order to achieve this type of cooperation between supplier and retailer
there needs to be real sharing of information and real trust. In effect the superstore is entrusting
their customer relationship to the supplier. This trust is developed through shared goals so
otherwise conflicting objectives of agility vs. cost and efficiency vs. effectiveness are balanced.
5 Information Builders
9. The Case for Information Sharing – Collaboration and Trust
Fostering a high performance value chain starts with an overall emphasis on creating an
environment where performance and operational information is shared in a transparent manner.
This creates an environment of trust, which empowers the supply chain partners to collaborate
in a proactive way to solve operational problems while constantly striving for more innovative
ways to improve overall performance and achieve greater value. The old axiom that knowledge
is power must be revised for the highly interdependent world of the supply chain to knowledge
is power only when it is shared.
In the book How by Dov Seidman he quantifies the value of trust through communication by
citing the results of a survey by professors Jeffrey H. Dyer of the Marriott School at Brigham Young
University and Wujin Chu of the College of Business Administration at Seoul National University.
“Dyer and Chu surveyed almost 350 buyer/supplier relationships involving eight automakers in the
United States, Japan, and South Korea and found a direct and dramatic relationship between trust
and transaction costs. The least trusted buyer incurred procurement costs six times higher than
the most trusted: same parts; same sorts of transactions. These additional costs came from added
resources that went into the selection, negotiation, and compliance costs of executing deals.
Dyer and Chu point to Nobel Prize-winning economist Douglas C. North’s findings that these sorts
of transaction costs account for more than a third of all business activity and that the least-trusted
companies were the least profitable.”
There is enormous benefit that can be derived through information sharing of strategies,
performance goals, key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational information. Creating and
sharing strategies ensures the necessary alignment is in place, shared goals ensure stakeholders “are
pulling in the same direction, KPIs let us know how we are performing and operational information
enables us to be agile, collaborative, and operate in real time. To relate this to
football, the strategy is the game plan so everyone knows their roles, the goals are to win, with
intermediate goals of scoring or getting first downs; the KPIs are the scoreboard; and the stats
and the operational information are what is actually happening on the field in real time and in
replays. With the teams’ shared understanding of goals and strategies, the KPIs, and operational
data in conjunction with what is happening on the field, adjustments required to win the game
can be made.
6 Optimizing Performance Across Your Supply Chain
10. Aligning Objectives Across Strategies and Perspectives
The start of any exercise is to establish specific value chain themes to create a real focus on
the organization’s strategy and define what it is uniquely qualified to do. For example Apple
Computer emphasizes innovation while Dell Computer emphasizes efficiency. The most common
methodology in use today for developing and implementing strategy is the balanced scorecard
approach first introduced in 1995.4
When developing a scorecard, companies need to choose a few themes, for example customers
for life, that will guide the inevitable tradeoffs among objectives and resource allocations. Strategic
and tactical objectives are assigned measures and targets so progress towards objectives can be
measured. Objectives are then grouped along the four scorecard perspectives and loaded, with
their individual metrics and targets, into a performance management database.
Figure 4.
To maximize performance across the value chain, business intelligence (BI) must be provided
across the organization from both a strategic and operational perspective. The strategy map
provides an integrated model that balances diverse goals and processes across the organization.
Objectives and initiatives are described in cause and effect chains, which are then cascaded
throughout the organization so each participant understands how they will be measured and
how their contributions relate to corporate goals.
Then management organizes communication via dashboards and KPIs that let people on the front
line understand how they are doing by using analytical tools that drill into detail and uncover the
4 Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P. “The Balanced Scorecard,” Harvard University Press, 1996.
7 Information Builders
11. root causes of various performance problems. Management analyzes effectiveness to further refine
strategies and puts initiatives, also known as gap projects, in place that are directed at improving
performance. This is called operational performance management and leads to performance
improvement due to improved alignment and the truth in the adage, what gets measured gets done.
The ultimate goal is to improve business performance, which comes from improving execution on
the processes designed to support strategic goals. According to a Brookings Institute study only
15 percent of a typical company’s market value is today made up of tangible assets vs. 62 percent
in 1982.5 So the goal has shifted from the efficient use of tangible assets to the effective and
efficient use of human, organization, and information capital. This shift points to the need to
embed real-time information into operational processes (BI) for front-line workers across the
enterprise. If front-line workers are armed with this knowledge, there is a real opportunity to
achieve the type of virtual supply chain described earlier.
With shared goals and the information needed to optimize performance in real time, stakeholders
work together to close the gap between strategy and operations. When you provide performance
management coupled with operational intelligence to everyone in the extended enterprise you
achieve strategic business intelligence because now BI directly supports operational effectiveness
in alignment with strategies and goals.
Yet sadly the average organization only provides access to 20 percent of its information to 10
percent of its employees. For more information on how Information Builders provides BI to the
masses refer to the white papers “Business Intelligence Goes Operational” and “Process Driven
Business Intelligence.”
Figure 5.
5 Lev, Baruch. “Intangibles,” Brookings Institution Press, 2001.
8 Optimizing Performance Across Your Supply Chain
12. Operational Performance Management
If performance management is a strategic corporate directive, defining corporate business
objectives needs to be a priority. To manage performance from a strategic and operational point
of view, systems and processes need to interact in a way that delivers a two-cycle closed-loop
solution. The first cycle is the operational business intelligence systems used by individual business
units. Operational BI needs to deliver usable and actionable operational data across all business
units and then deliver key performance indicators to a strategic performance management system.
The two closed loop systems, operational and strategic, need to intersect in order for data to be
shared and to create alignment between all levels of the organization so executives and
operational managers are tracking the same benchmarks. For example, balancing the lagging
financial indicators of sales and charge-backs with the leading indicators of customer satisfaction
and cycle-time measures can drive coordinated performance across the customer support,
manufacturing, and sales business-units.
Not only do shared goals and operational information open up the possibility for greater
alignment, but they also create the potential for a cycle of continuous improvement as depicted
in Figure 6.
Figure 6.
9 Information Builders
13. Fostering a High Performance Supply Chain
Once the basic strategies and goals have been established, tools are needed to motivate and
empower everyone in the enterprise to execute on organizational plans. First powerful tools for
communicating performance information are provided through intuitive and personalized
dashboards. Since all stakeholders will ultimately use these tools, implementation should require no
training, be strictly browser-based (no plug ins), adhere to the strictest security standards and
be highly scalable. Dashboards must allow each user to focus in on their KPIs, alerts, operational
drill paths, and also allow them to seamlessly collaborate with colleagues.
For more advanced users dashboards should provide comprehensive analytical tools that enable
users to drill anywhere and evaluate trends to gain real insight.
But dashboards and analytics that exist without a framework for bringing an organization’s strategy
and operations into alignment fall short because the strategy has not been made operational.
A framework provides the one lingua franca necessary to maintain order and context as opposed
to each group presenting departmental numbers in the most favorable light. To achieve alignment,
a rich framework is needed for creating strategies, maintaining metrics and dimensions, and
propagating objectives.
Figure 7 – With superior communication, analytics, and alignment the foundation for continuous
performance improvement across the supply chain is in place.
A true performance management system must be an overseer to all business-unit operational
systems. It needs to evenly and objectively manage the indicators and plans of each unit. And it
needs to review each unit’s key performance indicators and objectives within the context of the
organization as a whole.
10 Optimizing Performance Across Your Supply Chain
14. A Framework for Operational Performance Management
Figure 8 – The intersection between operational business intelligence and performance management.
Information Builders provides a fully integrated application for operational performance
management called the Performance Management Framework (PMF). PMF offers the best
attributes of a tool and an application. As a tool it is adaptable to any set of measures, dimensional
structures, or strategic methodology. As an application it comes complete with hundreds of
predefined measures, data and analytic models, reports, publishing tools, collaboration workflow,
alerts, and more.
PMF is built on the world’s leading data integration framework from iWay Software, an Information
Builders company. iWay solutions enable access to more than 300 information assets including
databases, applications, documents (HIPAA, EDI, SWIFT etc.), and source measures. These KPIs along
with your dimensional structure are loaded into PMF to optimize system performance and maintain
historical data. This allows you to track progress as well as aggregate and analyze information by
different dimensions (location, product, etc.). Measures may also be input directly into PMF and
plans are easily loaded from budgeting and planning applications or spreadsheets.
Unlike most scorecard products that were developed independent of BI technology, PMF is built
with WebFOCUS, the most widely utilized business intelligence (BI) platform in the world. With this
architecture all functionality is integrated, easily customized and extended for real-time operational
BI. WebFOCUS offers advanced and proven integration, scalability, and usability for all enterprise
users, including managers, operational employees, business partners, and customers.
11 Information Builders
15. A Supply Chain Scenario
The scenario in Figure 9 involves a manufacturer of consumer electronics that distributes its
products through a network of distributors and retailers and also uses WebFOCUS Performance
Management Framework (PMF). It shows a dashboard that each user can personalize to include
only their relevant KPIs, alerts, and graphs. Users can drill down from this high-level information to
more detail, such as metrics data, alerts, trends, projects, commentary, and hidden reds that relate
to the KPIs. You will notice that the profit measure is underperforming.
Figure 9.
Users drill through the chain of information to understand what causes and effects are related to
this underperforming goal. They can also drill down to the dimensional structure for profit to
understand who is responsible for poor profits, whether it is a particular division or product. First
they can evaluate why profits are underperforming globally.
In Figure 10 the profit goal has three causal objectives: sales, margins percentage, and customer
returns. It appears that customer returns is the primary culprit in underperforming profit. If users
drill down on customer returns they will see all of the related causes and effects and learn that
product quality is the cause. They can take their analysis even further by drilling down to specific
plants or products, and then drill in to operational information to see what customer orders and
shipments are being impacted
12 Optimizing Performance Across Your Supply Chain
16. Figure 10.
A complete framework for performance management should provide the necessary reports, be
built with BI solutions, and be adaptable to any business strategy or dimensional structure. PMF
is delivered with over 100 highly parameterized reports and most data is immediately drillable,
providing easy access to the information and real insight into performance problems through
graphical reports and strategy maps. The business users responsible for various scorecards easily
assemble maps like the one in Figure 11.
Figure 11.
The process of identifying and implementing strategic plans via balanced scorecards must provide
flexibility in order to allow organizations to continually refine their strategies.
13 Information Builders
17. The Agile Supply Chain
The key to success in today’s highly competitive environment lies in a businesses’ ability to respond
to customer demand in real time. This can only be achieved with an actual alignment of goals and
strategies across all supply chain stakeholders and true information sharing. And, each participant
should seek to optimize and integrate the level of service it provides in a virtual and seamless
manner. Only then can otherwise conflicting objectives be balanced and the goals of all
stakeholders be achieved. The benefits of having a high-performing supply chain are huge. Not
only can partners wring out unnecessary costs, but the goal of achieving higher perfect order
ratings yields enormous benefits.
Armed with shared goals and tools for collaboration, a company and its partners can achieve
superior performance across the supply chain as the results of Debra Hoffman’s research into
perfect order rating metrics clearly illustrates below.
Figure 12.
14 Optimizing Performance Across Your Supply Chain
18. The Bottom Line – Performance Improvement and Cost Savings
PMF is built for performance management on an enterprise scale. First PMF is deployed on the
most scalable BI platform and takes advantage of iWay Software solutions that provide the greatest
access into all of your information assets. PMF provides a rich database allowing for standardization
of dimensional structures and metrics attributes for reuse across the organization. Scorecards may
be cascaded for easy creation of new versions and to ensure proper alignment between scorecards.
As organizations rush to plug functional holes such as defining drill paths and report content
at runtime, or adding complete BI functionality to acquired scorecard-publishing tools, they will
be architecturally challenged as they attempt to incorporate BI, prove scalability, and provide
reasonable cost-of-ownership metrics. Moreover in order to support deeper metrics like customer
profitability, where measures must be combined from multiple sources, a system that provides
deep and seamless integration and is also platform, application, or database independent
is required.
In recent comparisons with other BI market leaders, Information Builders has found between a
three-to-one and ten-to-one performance advantage, leading to substantially lower hardware costs
and server-based licensing fees. The scalability of WebFOCUS allows substantially more users to be
supported on a given configuration than any other BI product. And, since we require no proprietary
databases, we have far lower administration requirements. In an environment of potentially
thousands of users, there should be no need to purchase large server farms to support long-term
performance management initiatives.
As performance management is automated and becomes part of the culture for all stakeholders
they will expect even more broad-based operational and analytic BI functionality. Right-time
information with the ability to intuitively drill anywhere will naturally be an important part of most
strategic gap initiatives designed to improve performance. The ability to provide data as well as
deep insight into information will be the secret sauce that motivates and empowers people to
truly execute on objectives. In this way a culture of accountability is created where continuous
improvement through collaboration, agility, innovation, and superior value chain execution
becomes the norm.
15 Information Builders