Supply Chain Masters

Achieving supply chain mastery. A few examples:

Dell Computers: Dell was struggling as a second tier PC maker until 1994. After it implemented a new business model, “build to order”, Dell eliminated its inventories and adopted a direct selling approach. The just-in-time (JIT) systemyielded rich dividends. Dell quickly became a market leader. Dell was able to make computers much faster than it produced earlier. Plant uptime also went up to a record 95 percent.
Click to download full text of this Case Study in PDF format: Dell's Supply Chain Management Strategy

Baxter: Baxter; in the hospital supply business established powerful partnerships with hospital customers in the mid 80’s. Baxter adopted ‘vendor managed inventory’ and managed its customer’s inventories within their hospital facilities. Also, by following ‘stockless system’, a supply chain innovation, Baxter transformed itself from a supplier of increasingly commodity like products to a distinguished provider of value added services.

Procter and Gamble (P&G): The ‘continuous replenishment system’ was pioneered by P&G when it partnered with Wal-Mart. Based on Wal-Mart’s product movement data; P&G replenished the stores. This supply chain innovation brought a striking turnaround in the consumer products and retail industries.

Scholastic, a world's leading publisher and distributor of children's books is another example of a supply chain master as it increased revenues substantially, by adopting a unique supply chain business model.