The German Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management

Management of Supply Chains is a must on the CEO agenda

In our opinion, more than ever before Supply Chain activities are core element of successful business.  

With the reduction of trade obstacles, low transportation costs and information transfer at almost zero cost and permanent data availability, global sourcing activities have led to supply networks spinning the globe.

But still a lot of challenges remain to improve those supply chains and keep them competitive. Latest reports from leading consulting firms show critical paths that decide about future success. Cost, transparency & data availability, globalisation, Make or Buy decisions and risk management are critical elements for succesful Value Chain Management. With dedication to those challenges, we want to raise awareness for current business changes and how they can affect your business.

Designing your Supply chain flexibile and agile can be crucial:

 "In China, the online retail market for consumer electronics provides an example. Companies such as Suning and
Gome, the two leading players, deliver to consumers in the larger cities within two or three hours. Such speed has become a competitive necessity, since consumers increasingly order the same item at several retailers, take the one that is delivered first, and reject the later arrivals." Source

Building your supply chain secure and resilient:

High interconnectedness of supplier-buyer relations combined with low stocks and on demand finishing increase the risk for supply disruptions, no matter if caused by natural hazards, strikes, terroism or other incidents. One of the latest articles showing improvement with Cisco Systems is published here.

Outsourcing without information integration:

Factor costs discrepancy, global trade opportunities, low information transaction cost led to global sourcing activities with multi-level supplier structures. But simple outsourcing and subcontracting mostly do not consider aspects of supply and organization control. Sustainability initiatives but also general information lacks such as product data, lot information and others show need for action.

Financial Supply Chain Management:

There is more than product and data flow occuring in the supply chain. Comprehensive reflection of the value chain structure enables different perspectives, also with focus on supply chain finance models. Diverted credit rates of supply chain actors demonstrate one point of inception for releasing wholistic supply chain improvement programs.