Infor (https://www.infor.com/company/) is a global software company with products to help manage most aspects of a business. Recently they offered a white paper that outlines their Concept to Customer supply chain management approach.
We found the white paper a thought provoking treatment of a difficult and complex subject. We hope you agree. If so, you can download the white paper from the link at the end of this article. Here are extracts from Infor’swhite paper:
Striving to take their business to a new level, or just keep pace with increasing competition, many executives are realizing they need an expanded view of their company’s business environment. There was a time when this meant looking deeper and harder into their own enterprise or slightly beyond to their immediate trading partners.
That’s no longer good enough. Virtually every company—from manufacturer to logistics provider to retailer—is operating in a much more complex, multifaceted supply chain. This means their business is being impacted by a whole new set of factors from the far reaches of their supply chain.
The list of forces driving this change in supply chain dynamics is long, varied and, in most instances, not a surprise. It includes the usual suspects—globalization, a changing competitive landscape due to mergers and acquisitions, changing regulatory requirements, changing consumer expectations, and a high failure rate for new product introductions. There also are forces that are less top of mind, including shortening of product lifecycles, skyrocketing product variety, rising energy costs, increased congestion at ports and on roads, and the impact of real or potential natural disasters and terrorism.
Infor™ has analyzed those business forces and the impact they are having on manufacturers, logistics providers, and retailers and developed a new way for companies to view their supply chains. We call it the “concept-to-customer” approach to supply chain management.
In its simplest terms, the concept-to-customer approach to supply chain management can be defined as taking the broadest possible view of the variables impacting a business. It’s a tacit acknowledgement that today’s typical supply chain is multifaceted and multidimensional and requires companies to see it that way. Based on our analysis of supply chain management trends, we believe companies are best served by viewing their supply chains in terms of three dimensions: internal, external, and customer.
In this whitepaper, we will describe concept-to-customer supply chain management in detail and the eight strategies customers can take to get a broader view of their supply chain for improved business performance.
Whether your company manufactures, distributes, or sells products directly to customers, it is critical to incorporate all supply chain business drivers into your decision making. The concept-to-customer supply chain management approach developed by Infor provides the conceptual framework for addressing business forces within the internal, external, and customer dimensions of your supply chain—enabling a true multidimensional view of the factors impacting business performance. With supply chain management and complementary solutions covering everything from product and network design to exception management and performance analysis to executing last mile delivery, Infor offers what customers need to build on this conceptual framework and implement the business strategies necessary for leveraging the value of supply chain management—from concept to customer.
Click Here New Dimensions in Supply Chain Mgmt to download the white paper from Infor, which is entitled New Dimensions in Supply Chain Management.