SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT

Impact of E-business on Responsiveness

It is very much evident that for any company to be successful, its supply chain strategy and
competitive strategy must fit together. Strategic fit meant that both the competitive and supply
chain strategies have aligned goals. It refers to consistency between the customer priorities that
the competitive strategy hopes to satisfy and the supply chain capabilities that the supply chain
strategy aims to build.

ACHIEVING STRATEGIC FIT

A competitive strategy will specify, either explicitly or implicitly, one or more customer
segments that a company hopes to satisfy. To achieve strategic fit, a company must ensure that its
supply chain capabilities support its ability to satisfy the targeted customer segments.
There are three basic steps to achieving this strategic fit, and they are:

1. Understanding the Customer and Supply Chain Uncertainty: First, a company must
understand the customer needs for each targeted segment and the uncertainty the supply chain
faces in satisfying these needs. These needs help the company define the desired cost and service
requirements. The supply chain uncertainty helps the company identify the extent of the
unpredictability of demand, disruption, and delay that the supply chain must be prepared for.

2. Understanding the Supply Chain Capabilities: There are many types of supply chains, each
of which is designed to perform different tasks well. A company must understand what its supply
chain is designed to do well.

3. Restructuring Strategic Fit: If a mismatch exists between what the supply chain does
particularly well and the desired customer needs, the company will either need to restructure the
supply chain to support the competitive strategy or alter its competitive strategy.
Supply chain responsiveness includes a supply chain's ability to do the following:
Respond to wide ranges of quantities demanded.
Meet short lead times.
Handle a large variety of products.
 Build highly innovative products.
Meet a high service level and
Handle supply uncertainty.
Responsiveness, however, comes at a cost. For instance, to respond to a wider range of quantities
demanded, capacity must be increased, which increases costs. This increase in cost leads to the
second definition: Supply chain efficiency is the inverse of the cost of making and delivering a
product to the customer. Increases in cost lower efficiency. For every strategic choice to increase
responsiveness, there are additional costs that lower efficiency.

FLIPKART
Flipkart is an electronic commerce company headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was
founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal (no relation). The company is registered in
Singapore. Flipkart has launched its own product range under the name "DigiFlip" with products
including tablets, USBs, and laptop bags. As of April 2017, the company was valued at $11.6
billion. In a report dated 25 November 2014, a leading media outlet reported that Flipkart were
operating through a complex business structure which included nine firms, some registered in
Singapore and some in India. In 2012 Flipkart co-founders sold WS Retail to a consortium of
investors led by Rajeev Kuchhal.
Impact of E-business on responsiveness of Flipkart
I have selected the company which is one of the E-commerce giant at present in India i.e.,
Flipkart. It is the company which is based solely on online trading that is E-business, it has no
brick and mortar shop of its version its available only online. Lets discuss the impact of E-
business on Flipkart which the help of above stated points.
1. Respond to wide range of quantities demanded: There are about 40 Millions products
listed on flipkart, and they deals with 10 Millions rupees every day- both of these data are
dynamic and changes every day. They are able to do so just because of the present
technologies like CRM, point of sale data and obviously presence of Internet.
2. Meet short lead times: Here I will my own example, recently I ordered my mobile
phone via Flipkart, they said to deliver in 5 days and I got my order on 3 rd day, they are
managing lead time very well, they give all information about status of product, with the
help of online trading otherwise they will not be able to do so, and reducing cost also.
3. Handle a large variety of products: As mentioned above they managed about roughly
50 Millions products on daily basis, which is possible because of use of extensive
technologies like- customer relationship management, good online supportive portal.
4. Build highly innovative products: introduction of events like Big Billion Sale, Republic
day sale, I think they are the pioneer in this field, they are using power of Internet very
well and thats what led them to be one of biggest e commerce giants.
5. Meet a high service level: This is one of the most important aspect in responsiveness of
any firm, Flipkart is managing this very well, they have well supported and strong
customer care department, that can support 24*7 throughout the year. Making your
customer feel delighted is their mantra of success. After purchase we can write reviews
and post comments and pictures etc so to express our feelings about the service we
received from them, providing variety and at a lesser or reduced cost.
6. Handle supply uncertainty: One of the biggest factors in making the firm or breaking
the firm is the capability to tackle uncertainty of the demand, if a firm is able to do so,
they will reach great heights like Flipkart, and otherwise there are firms that will vanish
away from market if not able to cope with this.
Lastly, I would like to say, that there is increasing competition day by day, so to remain in the
business a firm must be able to cope with the latest technology, and they have to find the
strategic fit between the resources they own and the strategies develop should be according to
that only and they must be able to use power of technology, Internet and increase their
productivity and work effectively and efficiently.
With the help of above six factors we have seen how E-business help in achieving
responsiveness level of firm by decreasing cost and so on.
On the other hand there are many issues in implementing this, but all issues have to be taken
into consideration while forming the strategies.
REFERENCES:
1. Sunil Chopra (2007) and peter Mendl, Supply Chain Management, Strategy, Planning and
Operations, 3rd edition, page: 23-43.
2. Sunil Chopra and Jan A. Van Mieghem, Which E-business is right for your supply
chain.
3. Wikipedia (for Flipkart introduction).