搜索
OpportunitiesforActioninIndustrialGoodsSupplyChainStrategiesfortheInternetEraSupplyChainStrategies-46/13/013:52PMPage1SupplyChainStrategiesfortheInternetEraBusiness-to-businesse-commerce,Internetexchanges,e-supply-chainmanagement:greatclaimshavebeenmadeabouttheInternet’sabilitytorevolutionizesup-plychains.NowthattheInternethypeisabating,allowingrealitytosetin,whatisactuallyhappening?HowmuchvalueistheInternetcreating,ifany?Andhowcanyourbusinessbenefit?Manycompaniesarehopingforsignificantresults.WhenTheBostonConsultingGrouprecentlysur-veyed250supply-chainexecutivesandgeneralman-agersatmajorU.S.corporations,morethanhalftherespondentsreportedthattheyseetheInternetasawayto“greatlyimprove”theirsupply-chainperfor-mance.Onaverage,theyexpecttocutunitcostsby3percentperyearwhileenhancingrevenuesby5percent.Moreover,theyanticipateachievingsimilarimprovementsannuallyoverseveralyears.Infact,anumberofcompaniesarealreadyrealizinggainsofthismagnitude.SomeBCGclientsareengagedininitiativesthatareyieldingbenefitsequalto5to10percentoftotalsales,withfurthergainsstillavailable.However,mostcompanieshaveseenonlylimitedbenefitsatbest—andinmanycases,thesebenefitswilloffernocompetitiveadvantage.ToomanycompaniesareusingtheInternetjusttomakesimpleenhancementstotheirsupplychains.Forexample,theyarereducingmaterialscoststhroughonlineprocurementandstreamliningcustomerser-vicedepartmentsthroughonlineordering.Althoughthesechangesdogenerallylowercostsandpleasecus-tomers,competitorscanquicklyreplicatethem.SupplyChainStrategies-46/13/013:52PMPage3Othercompanies,hopingformorelastingresults,aremakingadifferentkindofmistake:theyarepilingoneInternetprojectontopofanotheruntiltheyfindthemselveswrestlingwithanunmanageablerangeofinitiatives.Manyoftheseprojectswillnotyieldbenefitscommensuratewiththeinvestmentsthatfundthem.Thereisabetterway.BCGhasidentifiedasetofpio-neeringcompaniesthatareusingselectedInternetstrategiestorebuildtheirsupplychainsandcreatedurablecompetitiveadvantage.Manyofthesecompa-nieshaveachievedinventoryturnsthataretwotothreetimesthesurveyaverage.Theyexpecttorealizemorethantwiceasmuchvaluefromtheirinitiativesastheaveragecompanyandfivetimesthevalueantic-ipatedbythelaggards.Yourcompanymaybenefitfromtheirexperience.FivePathstothePrizeLeading-edgecompaniesarebuildingadvantagebypursuingoneormoreofthefollowingstrategies:•Activelycollaboratingwithsupplychainpartners•Extendingthecompany’sreachupanddownthesupplychain•Changingthesupplychainflowpath•Growingrevenue—notjustcuttingcosts•TransformingcapabilitiesintonewbusinessesLet’sexamineeachofthesestrategiesinaction.SupplyChainStrategies-46/13/013:52PMPage4ActivelyCollaboratingwithSupplyChainPartners.TheInternetcreatesnewopportunitiesforcollabora-tionamongpartnersinasupplychain.Bysharingcustomerdemanddata,forexample,allpartnerscanreduceforecastingerrors,thusdrivingdowninven-toriesandimprovingmanufacturingutilization.Similarly,coordinationofproductionanddeliveryschedulescontributestoreducedinventoriesandlowercosts.Collaborationonproductdesigncantrimcostsandspeedproductstomarket.Doneright,thesemeasuresresultinfinancialgainsforallpartners.Thebenefitsofsuchcollaborativeactivitieshavebeenwellpublicized,andanumberofcompaniesarenowtakingthisapproach.Yetmanycompaniesneglecttoinvolvetheirsupply-chainpartnerswhentheydesignInternet-basedenhancements.Incontrast,leading-edgecompaniesworkwiththeirpartners,squarelyaddressingcollaborationissuesupfronttouncoverjointopportunities.Forexample,amanufacturerofbasicmaterialsanditsmajordistributorworkedcloselytorevamptheirsharedsupplychain.Inaseriesoffocusedworkingsessions,theyidentifiedoverlappingactivitiesandredundancies.Thetwocompanieswereperformingthesamedownstreamproductmodifications,operat-ingsalesforcesinthesameregions,usingmanyofthesametransportationroutesandwarehouseloca-tions,andperformingredundantadministrativeactiv-ities.HavingcombinedthesefunctionsandleveragedthepoweroftheInternettoredesigntheirproc-esses,theyarenowontheirwaytorealizingnearly$100millioninjointbenefits.Itisimportanttonotethatnoneoftheseopportunitieshadbeenapparentuntilthetwopartnersengagedinactivecommunica-tionandjointproblemsolving.SupplyChainStrategies-46/13/013:52PMPage5ExtendingtheCompany’sReachupanddowntheSupplyChain.CompaniescanusethevastreachoftheInternettomovebeyondtheircurrentsupply-chainpartnersandengagewithabroadersetofcom-panies.Leading-edgecompaniesreachouttotheirsuppliers’suppliersandtheircustomers’customers.Adaptec,amanufacturerofhigh-techcomponents,providesagoodexampleofexpandedreach.Ratherthanbuildanewmanufacturingplantfor$1.2bil-lion,itcreatedavirtualfactoryfromaglobalsetofmanufacturers,suppliers,andsupplierstosuppliers.AdaptecnowusestheInternettoplanandsynchro-nizeinrealtimealltheseplayers’manufacturingactivities—includingproductspecifications,purchaseorders,work-in-processupdates,andshippingnotifi-cations.Coordinatingoperationsforthiswidelydis-persedsetofparticipantswouldhavebeenimpossiblewithoutInternet-basedstructuresandprocesses.Thecompanyhasnotonlyavoidedamajorinvestment