Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Are Multiple Supply Chains Important (Survey Response 5)

Are Multiple Supply Chains Important (Survey Response 5)

Megan, Senior Director Supply Chain Operations, Los Angeles, U.S.

I agree.

Multiple and supple Supply Chains that can be adopted quickly mitigate the risk associated with global business. absolutely.

Unanalyzed loyalty, or myopic reliance on a specific supply chain process or partnerships is less efficient for all products that a global business must produce to meet their growth demands; specifically, because, typically the chain is designed around either trying to meet all products needs (in the case of Apparel this is the biggest mistake we make- one chain for all brands), or geared towards one products exceptions (automotive innovation is the example here). This Creates unneeded pathways that add time, cost, or non required testing or analytics to individual product demands.

In addition any global company is exposed to the speed in which governments are adopting and dropping restrictions or regulations and the growing socio-political instability of both the raw materials and manufacturing markets.

Multiple Supply chains that can be adopted quickly as contingency routs or sustained individuated paths allows a company to respond to their consumers ever increasing demand for quality and cost. Ask GM… Dog food makers or Mattel.

My Response:

Interesting observation Megan.

In the example of Mattel specifically, (and I assuming you are talking about the recent spate of product recalls), how do you believe the Multiple Supply Chain concept could have averted the situation?

Megan's Clarification:

I believe what happens with “ancient” or “loyal” (older than 5 years) Supply paths is that the company becomes more and more reliant on the partnerships that make up the path Each person in the system becomes somewhat lazy (if you will) the vendors, product auditors etc. realize their relationship is exclusive or critical to the company and either take risks or loose focus. Having multiple supply chains forces “free market’ competition, provides the Company with contingency so they take a hard stance on quality, or push for better costs, allows for spontaneous freshening of the Supply Base, and worst case allows a company to make an immediate change when a problem is identified. If double digit percentage of your product is traveling through one set of partnerships there’s too much risk involved in changing A single supplier or a single path- they have deals with your other partners based on sustained volume, or legacy relationships, your cost structure is built on those relationships, your speed to market metrics are modeled against those paths. I believe what happens is it’s easier to make concessions because the risk of holding fast to product integrity standards is greater than the risk of bad quality. Until, of course, it’s too late. I think that’s the flaw of the chain not some large corrupt entity making planned obsolescence, or calculated risk, decisions.

A more simple example of this is with moving finished product. Having one exclusive contracted relationship limits you to certain lanes, ports and sail times. Having multiple relationships, or at the very least creating a relationship with a broker who manages those rapid switches allows for flexibility, adding time back into the Manufacturing calendar or back into the sales cycle, which in some cases may be more pennies per product but the time saved factor makes it more cost effective

Managing multiple chains, on-boarding new paths, grafting new sources to existing branches, or amputating chains that are not working should be a constant focus even if you make ball-bearings it’s the only way a company can stay competitive.





Are Multiple Supply Chains Important Survey Response 5 - To learn more about this author, visit Jon Hansen's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Stephanie Robey
Stephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals.

She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com   Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences.  Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

Read Steph's Blog
Meet Steph and Dave
Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich
- Visit Stephanie Robey's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Jon Hansen
(Visit Jon's Website) Personal Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jwhansen

Jon Hansen is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Jon Hansen's

Complete
List Of
Small-Business-Consulting
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Jon Hansen's Complete List of Small-Business-Consulting Articles For FREE!

More Jon Hansen
Riding the Crest of a New Wave How the Original SaaS Companies Have Gained the Upper Hand PI Intelligence Bite
The Number 1 Question Can A Consultant Really Make a Difference
The Greening of Procurement Revisited
Newest PI Sponsor Receives Patent That Will Forever Change The Software Vendor Landscape eLYNXX Corporation
Supply Chain Confidence A PI Q and A
What are the 3 biggest challenges faced by supply chainpurchasing professionals today Survey Result 20
A Perfect Vision and Determined Execution Laying the Foundations for Sustainable Success Perfect Commerce Profile
Guest Post Optimizing Value in the Economic Downturn and Recovery
Have you read Forrest Breyfogles new book on Integrated Enterprise Excellence Thoughtscomments
Guest Post Why Optimization Matters Moving Beyond Price Driven Auctions
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Leanne Hoagland-Smith  
Cheryl Matthynssens  
David Acheson  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Leadership Audit For Business Icon Leadership Audit For Business
Radical Green Business Icon Radical Green Business
Make Attitude Your Ally Icon Make Attitude Your Ally
Emotions Drive Behavior Icon Emotions Drive Behavior
Crazy Busy Icon Crazy Busy
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
 
Top 50 SEO Posts of the Year
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2008
Top SEO Posts of the Year
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Edoh Aziadeke Assahoun, Togo,
Edoh Aziadeke
Assahoun, Togo
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Lee Segal, >1,800% Growth in 5 Years
Lee Segal
>1,800% Growth in 5 Years
Adam and Matthew Toren , $200k to $3.4 Mil in 3 Years
Adam and Matthew Toren
$200k to $3.4 Mil in 3 Years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com
Jeff Bezos
Amazon.com
Gerry Schwartz, Onex
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup
Jack Canfield
Chicken Soup
Keith Ferrazzi, Never Eat Alone
Keith Ferrazzi
Never Eat Alone
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Putting Savvy Before Necessity by Jay Kubassek
By Jay Kubassek
     Get Real. Get Rich.
By Jay Kubassek
     How to find the right Opportunity and why 97 fail Part I
By Jay Kubassek

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information