Supply Chain Management and Logistics: Supply chain strategy and fit — Efficient vs. Responsive Supply Chains
How to match a supply chain's design, efficient or responsive, to the demand uncertainty of the products it serves.
Try 3 questions
1. In Marshall Fisher's framework, which product suits a physically efficient supply chain?
- A newly launched high-tech gadget
- A trendy product with short life cycles
- A staple product with predictable demand
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Answer: A staple product with predictable demand
Fisher matched functional products, with stable demand and low margins, to chains that minimize physical costs like production, transport and inventory.
2. What does 'strategic fit' mean for a supply chain?
- Every department minimizes its own costs
- Its capabilities match the customers' priorities
- Suppliers and retailers share one owner
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Answer: Its capabilities match the customers' priorities
Strategic fit means the chain's balance of cost and responsiveness supports what the targeted customers actually value.
3. Which customer requirement raises the implied demand uncertainty a supply chain must handle?
- Accepting longer delivery times
- Buying the same item for many years
- Demanding many more product variants
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Answer: Demanding many more product variants
With more variants, demand is split across many items, and each item's demand becomes harder to predict.
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