10.1 Introduction
We have now covered the key concepts of supply chain management in the previous nine chapters, and the key principles of SCM should be quite clear at this stage. If we can afford the luxury of revisiting some of the key concepts in supply chain management, we will see that while the pervasive focus of SCM is generating customer value, the route to that value is by managing inventory and transportation in the most effective and efficient way. Everything else we have studied so far is merely to support these aims.
The focus in this chapter is on the relationship between the product and its supply chain. We know that the product, as viewed by the customer, is intrinsically related with its supply chain, a relationship embodied in the value created by the product. In this chapter we will explore a few trends in product development which enable leading firms to manage greater productivity in their supply chain management activities. This of course would require a reconfiguration of the supply chain network and the system itself.
In your text
Page 207, Case: Hewlett-Packard: DeskJet printer supply chain
The case will introduce you to the types of problems faced by customer-oriented companies when they are trying to control inventory level in a highly volatile and widely dispersed market. This case will awaken your thinking. The analysis and possible solutions to HP's problems are discussed later in the text.