We understand you may feel you are doing just fine with how you’re meeting customer demand. You’re comfortable that you’re capturing enough sales without too much risk in cost or risk to the company. The prediction, planning and responsiveness in your supply chain is good enough, it’s not hurting you, and there’s no reason to shake things up.
Sure, you’re out of stock now and then, or you have to expedite shipments, transfer stock or ship to customers from alternate locations. You’re comfortable that your locations have about the right mix of SKUs , and you have a good idea of what to expect out of your next promotions or new items. That stuff is difficult to predict anyway, and the everyone in your company understands that. If this is you, you can stop reading. If you’re satisfied with your supply chain planning status quo, and believe that misalignment of inventory with customer demand is an accepted casualty of business, we don’t want to waste your time.
If you’re still reading, you know that there is opportunity to improve. You want better performance, and recognize that your supply chain plays an important part, but may not know exactly how to leverage your supply chain as an asset. You may have even recognized that the landscape of commerce has changed, and that you need to level the playing field by using techniques like Amazon, Wal-Mart and others to assure you capture and keep customers.
