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CHAIN
(case explanation)
BY:
ASHUTOSH SHARMA
INTRODUCTION
• HP concerned with high inventory levels and inventory imbalance in Europe. One of the
characteristics of the DeskJet product line is that it is customized for local markets, a
process called localization. This involve adding labeling and documentation in the correct
language and customizing the power supply for the correct voltage level and plug.
• Customization is done in Vancouver many weeks before the products arrive in Europe.
Furthermore, once the printers arrive in Europe, inventory imbalance might occur in the
following sense:
the European DC often finds itself with too much inventory of printer customized for certain
markets, and not enough inventory of printer customized for other.
• What are the cause of these problem?
uncertainty about how to set the correct inventory level.
different localization options makes inventory difficult to manage.
long lead time to difficulty in forecasting.
high safety stock.
uncertainty in many local market makes forecasting difficult.
maintaining co-operation between the various HP divisions.
THE DESKJET SUPPLY CHAIN AT VANCOUVER
THE DISTRIBUTION PROCESS
The supply chain: which focuses on the flow of physical products from
supplier through manufacturing and distribution all the way to retail outlets
and customers, and
The development chain: which focuses on new product introduction and
involves product architecture, make/buy decisions, earlier supplier
involvement, strategic partnering, supplier footprint, and supply contracts.
These two chains will intersect as products move from development to
production, and just as clearly, decision made in the development chain
will impact the efficiency of the supply chain.
How can design for logistics concepts be used to control logistics costs and
make the supply chain more efficient?