Response from: Randy Littleson    (09/05/07 6:26am)

I think you have a good list. A couple of other things I see as big challenges are dealing with demand volatility and ever shortening product lifecycles. When you combine these factors together, companies are really challenged with dealing with the amount of change that is taking place.

Most companies have invested in processes and tools that focus on execution - running the business like clockwork. But increasingly the business challenge is dealing with the business when it doesn't run like clockwork. Very few companies have implemented a viable solution to do so - a solution that empowers their people to respond quickly and effectively to change.

While supply chain management has traditionally been very focused on reducing costs, I also find that companies now are trying to also find ways to leverage their supply chain management effectiveness to drive top line revenue growth and customer satisfaction. Again, the need to respond to the unexpected is at the heart of their ability to accomplish this.

Response from: David C    (09/06/07 2:48pm)

Another issue I think needs to be added as a huge and growing supply chain issue is compliance in a regionalised environment.

Where globalisation looks for uniformity around the world, regionalisation creates fragmented standards to cover essentially the same ground.

The differing (and frequently opaque) RoHS regulations across the EU, China, Norway, California, rest of the US and so on are a good example.

Many customers also have their own, unique standards.

Standardisation will eventually happen, but it is a long way off and a lot of resource is going to be be spent on satisfying what really are going to be dead end requirements.

And get your supply chain compliance validation wrong and you wind up in Mattel's unenviable position.

Response from: Risk Central

[html] Which issues are on the top of the supply chain people's list?.

- RFID: Inve...