Combined Inventory and Network Strategy Optimisation
Competitive advantage
As businesses become more global it is increasingly important
for them to use their supply chains as a means of creating
competitive advantage. Those supply chains that are able to manage
the complexity and control the risk inherent in the new global
economy will be the ones most capable of maximising the benefits on
offer.
New supply chain drivers
Supply chain managers need to be able to deal with greater
levels of complexity, not only in terms of extended networks, but
also in inventory.
Dealing with factors such as: longer lead times
and uncertain supply, bigger production runs and supply
constraints, different modes of transport, ever changing global
cost drivers (fuel prices, inflation, exchange rates and taxation),
can make the understanding of and working with supply chains
difficult. Having these drivers change over time adds additional
layers of difficulty to the problem.
Supply chain managers who rely on traditional simplistic methods
to manage their supply chains and do not embrace this complexity
will give up the opportunity for benefit, and risk losing ground to
their competitors.