for purpose.
Let’s contrast the differences. A responsive supply chain moves quickly with short lead times. The
response rate is a critical component in the design of supply chains with predictable demand and
non-predictable timing. Which products are these? Items like flu vaccines, bathing suits, toys for the
holidays, seasonal items or disaster relief need to be managed using a responsive supply chain
design. The focus is on cycle reduction and allocation of on hand inventories. If the organization
attempts to manage the supply chain for a responsive product in an efficient design, short shipments
and customer service issues abound.
The responsive and agile supply chain are often confused, but they are different. While a responsive
supply chain is defined by short cycles, an agile supply chain delivers the same cost, quality and
customer service given the level of demand and supply volatility. Business results for items like new
product launch, specialized promotions, custom products and seasonal demand are improved
through the deployment of an agile supply
chain. In this report, we share tactics to
improve agility.
The delivery of new capabilities requires
the challenging of traditional supply chain
paradigms. This direction can be in direct
opposition to Information Technology (IT)
investments targeting the delivery of
efficient supply chain processes. For
example, the tight coupling of functions
and nodes with fixed integration to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) improves efficiency but
reduces agility or responsiveness. The take away? In the development of strategy, ask tough
questions. Business processes and IT investments need to align with supply chain goals.
Tactics vary. The approaches for agility cross over demand, supply, and product processes. Few
companies orchestrate agility tactics end-to-end from the customer's customer to the supplier's
supplier. In this report, we want to spark the debate of how to improve agility through holistic thinking.
The case studies in this report, collected over the last decade, demonstrate different supply chain
tactics to improve agility. These are shown in Figure 3.
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