Tip 8. Get a clear, short Supply chain - then use it

As there is a current reccession business' are working extra hard to look at every aspect of their business and see if they can improve it in a innovative way to gain competitive advantage. The suppy chain is how an organisation achieves a supply of products and facilities the company needs.

“The supply chain is the collection of activities that connect suppliers to end users, forming a chain of events. Value-added operations supply end customers, and this relationship is repeated with suppliers and their suppliers.” (Basem El Haik, 2005)

Companies will want to look at how they can cut costs and save time in their production lines. Using different technlogy and different ways to try save time.

The size of a supply chain varies from business to business, however each of these firms will strive to decrease the size of their supply chain making it as small and clear-cut as possible. In this way they are better able to manage their supply chain and keep down their costs and work with their suppliers to improve response times. They are also better able to form close relationships and work with their suppliers to innovate. Companies that have large supply chains can find it difficult to gain control over large numbers of suppliers missing out on cost savings and potential innovation.

Amazon.com is a successful company with a supply chain difficult for competitors to compete with. Using the facilities they have well and keep there customers happy.

 “As Amazon offers same-day, second-day and other fulfillment options, it competes with bricks-and-mortar companies more and more," says Serguei Netessine, professor of operations and information management at Wharton. (Knowledge@Wharton, 2009)

"Using drop shipping, Amazon also has real-time links to manufacturers, which ship goods directly to consumers on the internet-company's behalf.  "Amazon keeps the most popular products in inventory, but uses a mix of techniques to deliver goods," Netessine notes. This gives Amazon an advantage that its rivals find hard to replicate." (Knowledge@Wharton, 2009)

References

(2005). In D. M. Basem El Haik, Service design for six sigma: a roadmap of excellence (pp. 380-381). Wiley Publishers.

Knowledge@Wharton. (2009, 11 11). Fit for the Holidays: Amazon Is Shaping Up and Shipping Out. Retrieved 1 12, 2012, from Mananging Technology: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2382