ABSTRACT
Changes in the business environment have triggered the need for integrated supply chains. Will changes in the future reinforce the need for supply chains or make them less beneficial?
This chapter gives you a chance to use your ability to identify the major changes that are taking place in supply chains. The future of your company may depend on how well you anticipate and manage through the transitions. Do you remember Montgomery Ward? Circuit City? Borders? Those companies failed to recognize the need to change. What is the impact of online retailing on traditional retailers? Will automation replace the need for production workers? Will the sustainability movement become an integral part of a
company’s strategic management program? As you read this company profile and the chapter in the book, think about these questions:
• What items do you buy online? What products do you not buy online? Why? • What items will your children buy online? Not buy? Why? • How will packages be delivered to your house in the future? • Will offshore outsourcing increase or decrease in the future? Explain.
