ABSTRACT
Supply chains are composed of a collection of organizations, many of which are customers of other organizations in the supply chain and at the same time are suppliers of their own customers in the chain. This chapter presents the issues concerning the design and operation of organizational interfaces within the supply chain. In most supply chains, there are multiple such interfaces as each organization in the supply chain (a single link in the chain) has interfaces with one or more organizational customers. These interfaces are the points of contact with the customers, where information on customer needs and expectations is collected and used as input, to support the decisions of that link in the chain regarding its future activities. The design of these interfaces includes considerations related to the flow of material, the flow of information, and the decision-making process. Customers choose their suppliers from a variety of alternative suppliers. The chosen supplier has actually won a competition in which its superiority over alternative suppliers was determined. This superiority may stem from the quality, cost, or the timeliness of its products and services. In short, dealing with customers requires being competitive, and continuously managing the competition.
