ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the strategic relevance of the 'time compression' approach in relation to business competitiveness and the supply chain concept. A time compression approach focuses on how companies use time to deliver a sustainable fast response to customer needs through business processes that are organized around a strategic time-based focus. The term 'time compression' was originally introduced by Professor New. Time compression is the fundamental means for achieving a time-based competitive advantage and its application provides the focus of the approach. The achievement of time compression requires a quality-based approach. This can be viewed from two perspectives of quality. There are two categories of time compression benefit. The first is internal time, which only has an indirect impact on the customer as it relates to the internal consumption of time within a company. In contrast, external time relates to all aspects of time that have direct impact upon the customer, for example customer lead time from a stock point.
