Businesses are
confronted with a variety of leading edge supply chain strategies
,such as :
VMI (Vendor-Managed Inventory) lets the vendor manage
replenishment for a company
BTO (Build-to-order) or ATO (Assemble-to-order) present
ways to organize production and order fulfillment process from
Push to Pull. These 'demand-pull' supply chains anticipate and
respond to changes in real time. The internet enables new
velocities of execution, helping firms to be instantly
responsive to the changing demands of their customers.
Mass customization aims at building products and |
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Electronic Procurement, APO (Advanced Planning Optimization) and
Demand Chain Optimization
introduce scientific optimization techniques to plan production
and distribution
CPFR (Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment)
advocates collaborative efforts
between a supplier and a customer to plan replenishment
Electronic supply chain or E-business supply chain, a more
recent concept, leverages the Internet to collaborate, exchange
critical information and execute key functions like procurement,
order fulfillment, logistics and invoicing. There are three types
of Nets that are used to support e-supply chain. There are
various types of information highways used to connect different
parts of the supply chain, which support the processes within
the chain.
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An INTRANET is the internal net used within the boundaries
of the company and many companies are linking their ERP
systems; however, much of the data is considered sensitive
and as such Intranets are protected from outside access by a
'firewall' The second system is the EXTRANET connecting
participating companies – either customers or suppliers.
Here a customer could have access to the ERP system on his
order status, while the supplier could access the inventory
data to support automatic replenishment process.
The third system is the INTERNET, which is the open to the general public
where the company could give publicity of their
products/services offered and accept orders from customers,
on line. However, in this case there is no security of the
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information provided on the net. As such, intranet is a
private net; extranet is a shared net, while internet is
public.
RFID Technology: A common method of identifying objects using
Radio Frequency Identification or RFID, is to store a serial
number that identifies a product and perhaps other information,
on a microchip, which is attached to an antenna. The antenna
enables the chip to transmit the identification information to a
reader. The reader converts the radio waves returned from the
RFID tag into a form that is computer-readable. Tags can
typically store a unique 64-bit identifier, which are about 300
words of description. The reader sends out electromagnetic waves
that form a magnetic field when they 'couple' within the antenna
on the RFID tag.
The agile Manager will embrace all the concepts to arrive at
the optimal strategic mix. Successful companies understand that
the ideal supply chain strategy is dependent on not one but a variety of
factors. |
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