Managing a global supply chain partnership

Jaideep Motwani, Lars Larson and Suraj Ahuja

Logistics Information Management

1998, Vol. 11, No. 6 P. 349-354

 

1)      Global Supply Chain Management (GSCM)

  1. a) Benefits
  2. i) Allows firms to make full use of intellectual capital and knowledge base for R&D
  3. ii) Allows firms to take advantage of diversity in the international environment
  4. b) Trick to building GSCM
  5. i) Balancing raw materials, work in process, component inventories, and finished goods in response to ever-changing markets

2)      Current Supply Chain management practices

  1. a) Simple inventory management
  2. i) Determine replenishment based on each products demand characteristics
  3. ii) Promotion forecasting based on past experiences

iii)     Full-load constraint is not ignored

  1. b) Information exchange
  2. i) Link supply and demand data systems together
  3. ii) Allow distributors and contractors access to view demand and production information
  4. c) Logistics and Distributions
  5. i) Streamline to reduce distribution times
  6. ii) Consider outsourcing of logistics functions to specialists

iii)     GSCM minimizes cost or weighted cumulative production and distribution times

3)      Implementing GSCM Model

  1. a) 5 stages
  2. i) creating awareness and commitment

(1)   Define/redefine core competencies

(2)   Tom management commitment

(3)   Develop an understanding of GSCM?

(4)   Establish searching and choosing criteria

  1. ii) searching and planning

(1)   Establish selection and planning criteria

(2)   Set expectations

(3)   Assess/evaluate supply chain partners

iii)     Selecting

(1)   Form formal partnerships

(2)   Establish effectiveness measures/indicators

(3)   Establish specific detailed expectations

(4)   Determine operating standards

(5)   Perform competitive benchmarking

  1. iv) Implementing

(1)   Evaluate operating standards

(2)   Recognize and reward improvements

  1. v) Evaluation

(1)   Evaluate program annually

(2)   Evaluate strategic and operational aspects of partners

(3)   Redesign or revise program

4)      Conclusions

  1. a) Challenges
  2. i) Dynamic nature of environment
  3. ii) Changing ways of thinking

iii)     Complying with rules/laws of all involved governments

  1. iv) Balancing assets in the chain
  2. b) Future aspects
  3. i) Sharing the risks in relationships
  4. ii) Greening of the supply chain

iii)     Intelligent information systems

  1. iv) World wide web