The past two decades have witnessed dramatic improvements to supply chain performance through lean manufacturing, just-in-time (JIT) inventory, ever-increasing velocity, extreme outsourcing, and related transformations. In the ten years from 1992 to 2002, the ratio of inventories to shipments in the US fell from 1.65 to 1.35. These are enormous numbers in the context of our multi-trillion dollar economy. At the same time, the complexity and length of supply chains have increased due to ever-greater out-sourcing and globalization. Today the material is acquired and integral processes are performed by a network of many dozens of “virtually integrated” firms, each master of its own specialty. We are getting more spread out, not just geographically, but also organizationally.
Click to Add the First »