Darwin and Supply Chain Management
In the past people believed that the company with the strongest supply chains would be the leaders. But it's not the strongest that survive in Supply Chain Management. Darwin was right when he said it is rather the one with the most flexible supply chain that will prove themselves as a leader.
Darwin's idea stays true even for SCM as the fight between organizations is increasingly going to depend on SCM.
Key Dimensions that allow flexibility to SCM or the dimensions of SCM can be explained as
1. Strategic Supplier Partnership: It's always better to develop a strong vendor developing Supply Chain Relationship. It is always believed to have one strong source of material rather than more vendors on list
Eg: This is done best by TATA in India. Whenever they start a production unit at a new Location, they ensure that they get a new plant for their vendor in the nearby location. This helps both the organizations to grow!
2. Lean Production: Lean production is very important for making your SCM flexible. The main focus here is to remove non value addition activities and waste removal.
Eg: Ford has been using this concept vey well
3. Postponement technique:-Postponement involves the process of delaying final product until the actual order requirement is specified by the customer. Thus keeping it at semifinished level gives the organization flexibility to respond change immediately.
Eg: The best example here is Dell make to order online laptops
4.New Technology and Innovation: The key for the success of any organization always lies in the innovation. Let us look at the fortune 500 companies at a glance for past 5 years. The top 5 mostly remained the same though their positions were interchanged. The innovation is most important factor that helped them to keep their SCM flexible and survive.
Eg:-Walmart which is among top 5 of Fortune 500 is known for innovation and new strategies in SCM.
Log in
