ABSTRACT

The chapter presents arguments for company strategies to consider the SCM function as a logical participant, or even "owner", of these dimensions. Understanding the basic nature of demand in various channels and how to turn customer requirements into product features and supply chain processes should be an essential SCM role. A start toward the environment described above is to specify the roles that supply chain design must play. This process should address the seven dimensions. Vague higher-level but immeasurable goals such as "excellent customer service" may exist in any company, but these are seldom translated into consistent specifications for operations. For totally new products, there may be little customer experience to guide the effort, so the designer must create a specification based on common sense, customer inputs, and a formal statement of requirements.