THE IMPACT OF WORLD-CLASS MANUFACTURING PRACTICES ON SMALL MANUFACTURERS - by
David K. Johnson

A Solid Supply-chain Management Foundation

Any viable structure requires a solid foundation. Supply-chain management has been chosen for the foundation of the model, because of its high level nature. To avoid point optimization any lean manufacturing or quality initiative should first be evaluated from the supply-chain perspective. For this reason, supply-chain management establishes the foundation for lean manufacturing and quality.

Supply-chain integration can provide a company as well as its entire supplier network with a significant competitive advantage over their competition. Even though the rewards for successful supply-chain integration are substantial, few companies have been able to integrate more than a portion of their supply-chain. Even supply-chain leaders, such as Dell, Wal-Mart, and Toyota have done little to reach beyond a single level, in each direction of their supply-chains, yet the results of even partial supply-chain integration have been impressive. To achieve the benefits of supply-chain integration, companies must first understand the requirements and then overcome the obstacles to integration.

Benefits of Supply-chain Integration

Supply-chain integration improves the competitive position of the supply-chain and each of its members. Integration not only lowers costs, but it also results in higher profits, increased market share, stronger barriers to entry, improved quality, greater flexibility, and many other benefits. Unlike many other management practices, which optimize the performance of one measure at the expense of another, supply-chain integration can truly increase performance in a variety of ways.

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Copyright © 2005. David K. Johnson. All Rights Reserved.