Don’t Tweak Your Supply Chain Case
Short Essay: Don’t Tweak Your Supply Chain Case
According to Dr. Lee supply chain should not be altered or twisted to attain supply chain improvement and sustainability but rather should be worked from end to end. Dr. Lee suggests companies to connect the dots within its operations and between operations similar to what Esquel did, reinvent the manufacturing processes like the Posco case which yielded them great savings, Work with your supplier’s suppliers as in case of Starbucks and to link up with competitors like the ERM to improve the supply chain and overall sustainability along with long term benefits in terms of cost, quality and brand value.
The biggest challenges a company faces by following the above set of methods would be to strike a balance between cost and sustainability. Companies might end up losing supply by being strict on sustainability issues and at the same time there might be increased cost associated with the sustainability factor. But then companies can also overcome this challenge like the way Esquel did it. Companies can manage to find connections between operations along with sustainability techniques which will help to improve sustainability but also improve the efficiency and reduce the overall cost. Secondly, Companies will also face challenges with respect to intellectual property as there exists sharing of information with its suppliers or across its supply chain. Companies need to work as a team to achieve sustainability heights but at the same time there is a risk of companies losing vital information into the hands of competitors. This can be overcome by developing long term relationships with supply chain counterparts and also by having strict and stringent contracts. This will help to work as a team and to maintain the intellectual rights. Another challenge would be measuring supplier’s and their supplier’s sustainability. With a company as big as Wal-Mart it’s very difficult to manage all of its suppliers and their
According to Dr. Lee supply chain should not be altered or twisted to attain supply chain improvement and sustainability but rather should be worked from end to end. Dr. Lee suggests companies to connect the dots within its operations and between operations similar to what Esquel did, reinvent the manufacturing processes like the Posco case which yielded them great savings, Work with your supplier’s suppliers as in case of Starbucks and to link up with competitors like the ERM to improve the supply chain and overall sustainability along with long term benefits in terms of cost, quality and brand value.
The biggest challenges a company faces by following the above set of methods would be to strike a balance between cost and sustainability. Companies might end up losing supply by being strict on sustainability issues and at the same time there might be increased cost associated with the sustainability factor. But then companies can also overcome this challenge like the way Esquel did it. Companies can manage to find connections between operations along with sustainability techniques which will help to improve sustainability but also improve the efficiency and reduce the overall cost. Secondly, Companies will also face challenges with respect to intellectual property as there exists sharing of information with its suppliers or across its supply chain. Companies need to work as a team to achieve sustainability heights but at the same time there is a risk of companies losing vital information into the hands of competitors. This can be overcome by developing long term relationships with supply chain counterparts and also by having strict and stringent contracts. This will help to work as a team and to maintain the intellectual rights. Another challenge would be measuring supplier’s and their supplier’s sustainability. With a company as big as Wal-Mart it’s very difficult to manage all of its suppliers and their