Changing Supply Chain Thinking

The supply chain is changing both domestically and internationally because of pressure to cut costs and increase efficiency and productivity. According to a recent Fleet Owner article, all people involved in making supply chain decisions will face shifts in their transportation strategies.

Shippers are trying to streamline their supply chains, while truckers are attempting to diversify their service offerings to meet transportation needs. Truckers also are trying to make their equipment as efficient as possible and are lowering travel expenses to improve their cost structure. The need for more efficient processes has formed at a time when there is increased pressure across supply chains. Customers now can demand supplies at any time and from anywhere, and suppliers must have the insight and execution to keep up.

“After the experience of the last 18 to 24 months, we know we need to be much more nimble in the future to drive efficiencies through a multidivisional company like ours while enabling us … to more rapidly respond to changing business dynamics,” says Charlie Chesnutt, senior vice president at Genuine Parts. He argues that purchased product should not matter because it depends on how the warehouses, trucks, and technology get it to the end customer. Their plans can be different, but the software should be the same. “It’s all about more precisely establishing the ‘what, when, how much, and why’ of the shipment and storage goods so our business as a whole can benefit from this supply chain shift,” says Chesnutt.

Source: APICS e-News

URL: http://www.apics.org/sitefiles/enews/enews_2010_05_18_full_version.html?utm_source=enews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=enews_100518#2