ABSTRACT
Some supermarkets use their loyalty card system to gather masses of customer spend data through which they hope to understand who shops where, when do they buy, what do they buy, what are the product trends, what is the sensitivity to price/brand, and many other useful pieces of information. Ideally, suppliers deliver a close match to what their own customers demand. For a tuna canning business, cans need to appear through a hole in the wall as and when the fishes are processed—and of course at the lowest cost, excellent quality, and latest design. The supply base must be efficient in terms of price and cost. There needs to be enough suppliers and capacity, but not too many to make management difficult or to dilute spend with individual suppliers. Relationships are what get things done in many business areas. Supply chains involve a wider range of people from different departments and other businesses than any other component.
