5 Strategies to Drive Customer Demand

Sept. 12, 2008
Efficient, flexible, demand-driven supply chains can drive profit.

While making quality products is extremely important, having a consumer-driven, adaptable supply chain is just as necessary to gain competitive advantage, says David Johnston, senior VP, supply chain and wholesale distribution, with JDA Software, a provider of supply chain management solutions. "Best-in-class companies have long understood that an efficient and flexible, demand-driven supply chain can be a powerful driver of profitable business performance," Johnston observes.

To develop that kind of high-functioning supply chain, Johnston recommends the following best practices:

  1. Adopt a demand-driven, consumer-centric approach to planning and forecasting.
  2. Enable your planners to focus less on statistical analysis and more on strategic demand management.
  3. Collaborate closely in real-time with customers and trading partners.
  4. Apply performance management technology to gain value from information.
  5. Integrate vendor-managed inventory programs into your planning processes.

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