Supply Chain Management: Defining Supply Chain Opportunities

EXECUTIVE INSIGHT

Companies that work together in supply chains conduct an ongoing discussion about the value perceived and paid for between supply chain partners. The balance of power in the supply chain is always being explored.

Walt Dethlefsen is the executive vice president of Network Services Company. Network Services is a distribution organization that handles a bundle of products that includes printing paper and paper products, food service disposables, and janitorial supplies. Network Services participates in the supply chains of customers such as Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins, 24 Hour Fitness Clubs, and Premier Health Care. The company distributes the products of manufacturers such as Georgia-Pacific, Kimberly Clark, Johnson Wax, 3M, and Rubbermaid.

One of Walt’s main activities is to manage the relationships that Network Services has with its suppliers. His work gives him a firsthand view on a weekly basis of what it means to work in evolving supply chains with demanding customers and manufacturers. “Big manufacturers used to have the most power but that is shifting towards the big customer. Big customers now go directly to the manufacturers whose products they want to negotiate prices on and then they go to the distributor and negotiate the cost for product delivery.

“The distributor often has the least power now. For years the distributorwas in the middle and could negotiate with both sides—the customer on one hand and the manufacturer on the other. There were distributors who did a very good job negotiating with one or the other and sometimes both parties.” Customers these days have many choices in what they buy and are very successful in driving down prices. Manufacturers are also able to use many different channels to market so they demand greater and greater performance from the distributors they work with.

“The only distributors who are able to defy the price squeeze andmaintain reasonable margins are the ones who are able to create abrand. Typically they recreate their whole company into a brand. The brand stands for all the products they sell plus everything else that they provide for the customer. When the customer buys from them they know that trucks will show up at the right time with the right stuff, that they will get quality products and top notch customer service, all at a fair acquisition cost.”

The power of the distributor in a supply chain depend very much on the type of manufacturers that they work with. “I would say we work with three kinds of manufacturers,” says Walt. The first kind is the brand name manufacturer who has a retail consumer side of their company as well as a business-to-business side. “What they mostly expect from the distributor is logistics and customer support in the field.”

The second kind of manufacturer focuses mainly on the business-to-business market and views the distributor as their customer. “They are generally selective and will only sell to distribution that gives them a lot of participation. They typically limit the number ofdistributors in a market if they are satisfied with the penetration they provide.”

In the third group of manufacturers are companies who are basicallyconverters or smaller manufacturers. Converters take a finished product from another manufacturer and further customize it. For instance, they may buy bulk rolls of towel and tissue grade paper and cut it to customer specifications. Also in this group are small specialty manufacturers of product lines that have little brand recognition. “These companies are the ones who are most dependent on the distributor to get their product to market. They have small sales forces and rely on distributors to develop the end use market for their products. They produce products with little known brand names and typically they lead with price.”

 

Lets Discuss:

How does Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain?Write your answer on the "comment" section.

 

About the Author:

Rebecca Mauhay Nunesca is a Professional Industrial Engineer and an ASEAN Engineer currently connected at Batangas State University as Faculty Staff in the IE Department. She is presently enrolled at Rizal Technological University taking MS Engineering Education major in Industrial Engineering. 

 

Reference:

Michal Hugos, Essentials of Supply Chain Management, 3rd Edition 

 

 

Subjects:

Comments

Network Services Company (NSC) outsources other companies and organizations and most of the times tasks are outsourced to vendors who specialize in their field. The outsourced vendors also have their technical expertise resulting to complete tasks faster and with better quality output. Also, NSC can concentrate on the core of their process rather than the supporting ones because it was well manage by their outsourced company and since the outsourced vendor is a specialist, they are able to plan the risks better. I think these are the one of the many advantages of the NSCs’ to gain competitive advantages in their supply chain. Hope I answer it correctly. Thanks to the author and for this site! God bless!

A network service company enables businesses to realize the benefits of mass collaboration despite the constraints of modern organizational structures and systems.Network service company create a strong collaboration with other companies by working together to make the whole supply chain competitive. Because of their services they clearly recognized the needs of their customers and they can respond to changes happening in the marketplace. They sustain the needs of the customers and they create a competitive advantage to others. Trough network service company they can now easily secure their supply chain into a smooth flow of information that can react faster to fulfill the customers needs and be adapted to the market changes.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain through working and collaborating with three kinds of manufacturers that offer different types of products. Through this, they can give what their customers want and demand and they have the chance to go with the flow and changes in the market. Aside from that, NCS has also given opportunities to different manufacturers to showcase their products in the market.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain through working and collaborating with three kinds of manufacturers that offer different types of products. Through this, they can give what their customers want and demand and they have the chance to go with the flow and changes in the market. Aside from that, NCS has also given opportunities to different manufacturers to showcase their products in the market.

Network Services Company (NSC) as a distribution organization gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain because of the strategic activities made by Walt Dethlefsen, the executive vice president of their company. One of hi activities is to manage the relationship that the Network Services has with its suppliers. as a distributor, their power in supply depend on the type of the manufacturers they work with. Because of the knowledge posses by Walt, he concludes that they are working with three kinds of manufacturers and give a big impact on how they gained the competitive advantage in supply chain. In reality, it is based on your strategy and knowledge how will you lead your company in a competitive one.

Network Services Company gained their competitive advantage through having a working relationship with three different types of manufacturers that caters different types of products. Hence they are dynamic and they are able to cater to demanding customers. Also they recreate their company into a brand. A brand that is known for top-notch customer service, quality products and fair cost.

Now a day’s many companies used a combination of factors including quality, price, customer service, product features, and availability. And they used SCM to strive for waste reduction at all levels within the supply chain, through minimizing duplication by keeping inventories maintained and managed efficiently, and seeking to achieve uniformity of operations and systems among supply chain.

Network Services Company gained their advantage by giving strength on their power of distribution. The power of the distributor in a supply chain depends on the type of manufacturers that they work with. NSC place itself at the middle of supply chain between big and small manufacturers. By satisfying the needs of their customers, they established their brand and gained trust. They able to balance the needs of manufacturers to distribute its products to the needs of small companies to receive those products. NSC just prove that a well manage customers relationship and flow of supply chain can result to company’s success.

Network Company Services gained their advantages by means of combine forces from different manufacturer. They work with three different kinds of manufacturer that enables them to know what specific products they are interested and also to give satisfaction to the customer. With this kind of strategy they can easily know the needs of their customer. This is also give opportunity to other manufacturer who would like to adapt their services.

The concept of partnering with three kinds of manufacturer gives way for the Network Services Company to gain competitive advantage in their supply chain. The partner manufacturers offer a variety of products and services. The Network Services Company also manages to maintain relationship with their suppliers and customers. This is to ensure that the company and their partner manufacturer can give the demand of customers. The company’s aim of creating a brand helps them to be competitive; more customers were acquiring their service, for the customers know that they deliver the right product at the right time and at the right quantity.

The competitive advantage of network Service Company for me is that they really make sure that they manage the relationship among the members of the supply chain, most especially the supplier and their customer. Because of the evolving world of the supply chain they make sure that they can meet the demands of their customer and their manufacturer. One of the other advantages is that they are the only distributor that can defy the price squeeze and maintain reasonable margins. They can also work on the three kinds of manufacturers which the other distributor can’t do.

Network Services Company gained their competitive advantage through starting a great collaboration with other manufacturing companies by working together to become competitive. NSC assure to the customers that their orders will be delivered on time with the right stuff and quality products at the right cost, and also by the three kinds of manufacturers they able to meet the demand of their customers and adapt to the sudden changes around them. Then, it only proves that NSC is competitive.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage with regards to their supply chain by coordinating with the three different kinds of manufacturers. Coordinating with the three gave NCS the edge in the field of distribution of different kinds of products. Dealing with the three makes NCS flexible in meeting the demand specifications of their consumers. By this, NCS also gained the trust of their consumers through the quality products they serve and delivers.

It is relevant or important that the Network Services have good relatioship with their suppliers. As mentioned in the article, the power of the distributor depends on the type of the manufacturer that he works with. Given the three types of manufacturer, the Network Services can work with all of them in the chain whether with the brand name manufacturer, the manufacturer or with the converters or smaller manufacturers. When the Network Services already established good working relationships with their suppliers, the Network Services can : 1) Supply the brand name manufacturer or the retail customer of the brand name manufacturer. 2) Supply the manufacturer and also the distributor. 3) Lastly, can supply the smaller manufacturer or what we call the converter. In other words, it is an advantage for network services to have these supply chain.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain by coordinating with the three different kinds of manufacturing companies. Assuring that they deliver the best quality that they can offer to their customers. NCS is also open to different deals that their customers suggest. By this, they build distributor-customers relationships. Lastly, NCS can comply with the different demands of their customers.

Network Services gained their competitive advantage through collaborating with three different kinds of manufacturers. Collaborating with three different manufactures gives them the opportunities to satisfy the different demand of their customer, making them more flexible.

Network Services gained their competitive advantage through collaborating with three different kinds of manufacturers. Collaborating with three different manufactures gives them the opportunities to satisfy the different demand of their customer, making them more flexible.

Network Services gained their competitive advantage through collaborating with three different kinds of manufacturers. Collaborating with three different manufactures gives them the opportunities to satisfy the different demand of their customer, making them more flexible.

Network Services gained their competitive advantage through collaborating with three different kinds of manufacturers. Collaborating with three different manufactures gives them the opportunities to satisfy the different demand of their customer, making them more flexible.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain by systematizing with the three different kinds of manufacturing companies. As an advantage, Network Services Company (NSC) manage their customer relationship and customer satisfaction beacause it produce powerful effects in an organization, employees became focus on fulfilling the expectation of customers. Through this dipping of ratings can be monitored and serves as a warning if theres a problem that would affect the sales and profit of the company. Also NDS assures to open great deals for customer suggestions depending on what customers want showing the flexibility and Competitiveness of NDS. -nice article.. :)

Through the use and proper collaboration of the three kinds of manufacturing companies,Network Services Company gained their competitive advantage in their supply chain. in here the power of the distributors greatly depends on the type of manufacturer they work with, and since the manufacturers can use many of their different channels to market their demand greater and greater performance from the distributors they work with, NSC comes into play wherein they are the ones who negotiates between the customer the manufacturers.through this effective and good supply chain was build up between, manufacturers,NSC, distributors up to the customers.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain by systematizing with the three different kinds of manufacturing companies. As an advantage, Network Services Company (NSC) manage their customer relationship and customer satisfaction beacause it produce powerful effects in an organization, employees became focus on fulfilling the expectation of customers. Through this dipping of ratings can be monitored and serves as a warning if theres a problem that would affect the sales and profit of the company. Also NDS assures to open great deals for customer suggestions depending on what customers want showing the flexibility and Competitiveness of NDS. -nice article.. :)

The competitive advantage of Network Services Company gained in their supply is they work with the three kinds of manufacturing company who offers different kinds of products that meets the demand of its customers.They can easily adopt changes base on what customers wants and need.They also manage their relationship among their suppliers,with this they can respond to the sudden demand increase or unanticipated supply disruption that provides an opportunity to capture new customers.

I think Network Services Company will gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain because of their three kinds of manufacturer (a) brand name manufacturer, (b) business-to-business market and (c) group of manufacturer basically converts or smaller manufacturer and because of that, it will help for; not only for the individual but also the company itself to developed more knowledge and gained some information. The foresaid company was the one who distribute their bundle of product to different places and they are participating in the supply chain of the customer such as Starbucks, Baskin-Robinson and etc. It is not only an ordinary supply chain, the big customer must go directly to the manufacturer to talk with, about what product they want to negotiate prices and costs. The most important in their supply chain is they did not wasting time, very selective and they are only sell to distribution that give a lot of participation. And they are not only producing products with little known but also they are typically lead their price. Thankyou for the author of this article .. GODBLESS

Networ Services Company should react rapidly, efficiently and effectively in order to respond to changes happening in the market place so as to sustain and most importantly, to create competetive advantage. An effective supply chain can create a strong competetive advantage for the firms involved within it. A competetive advantage is defined by the capabilities that an organization can develop for defensible position over its competitors.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage through participating in the supply chains of customers such as Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins, 24 Hour Fitness Clubs, and Premier Health Care and others. The company is being managed and monitored on a weekly basis of what it means to work in evolving supply chains with demanding customers and manufacturers and ensures the relationships with their suppliers. Also, they analyzed and identified the kinds of distributors and manufacturers.

The network services company gained an advantage in the supply because there are these three kinds of manufacturers that is a helping hand in the company. They can compete with greater flexibility with what the customer needs and able to promote the different products they have to their customers. With the three types of manufacturers,it allows to position the products close to your customers which helps speed the demand. In the market industry it able to get the right amount of product to the right places at the right time to meet the need of your customers that is your advantage to the other competitors.

Networking Services Company (NSC) gives way to the idea of collaboration. The management maintain a good relationship towards their manufacturers. Since supply chain is an interconnected network of activities, having a systematic partnership with the members of supply chain results to a smooth flow of processes that could meet customers' needs and satisfaction.

Network Service Company gained advantage in supply chain because they offer three kinds of manufacturers that is a helping hand in the company. the company gained an edge toward other company because of their flexibility in giving the what the customers wants and what they need.

By working with three kinds of manufacturer, the Networking Services Company (NSC)has gained their competitive advantage. This flexibility open different opportunities for the company.NSC has built a strong collaboration that help them to meet the customer demands resulting to greater customer satisfaction. This strong collaboration also signifies that the company can adapt to any change in the supply chain.

Network Services is a distribution organization that handles a bundle of products that includes printing paper and paper products, food service disposables, and janitorial supplies.I think they gained their competitive advantage by having a good collaboration with their co-workers or business relations such as manufacturers and customers. They also give emphasis, and strenght in different type of manufacturers they work with.They satisfy the needs of their customers , they established their brands and gained trust. They should have a good contact with the manufacturers and good relations with customers. NSC proves that they are enough competitive and they will become succesful

Networks Services Company gained their competitive advantages by creating a good relationship with the three main type of manufacturers, and collaborate with them in providing the customers demand on a fastest way so that they can satisfy the customers. Being the distributors of the three main manufacturers, NSC can have the assurance that the loyalty of the customers will be on them.

Network Services Company gained advantage in their supply chain through the proper collaboration of the three kinds of manufacturing. Here, they are the ones that communicate with their clients and they can control their business process that gives satisfaction to the needs of the customers. With this, they can have a better relationship with their customers.

Network Services gained their competitive advantage in their supply chain through the proper collaboration of the three kinds of manufacturing. In this case, they can able to communicate with their clients prior control to the business. Through this, they were able to provide the needs of their clients more accurately in lesser time. With this, it can increase the relationship with the clients and the same time can build high performance of service.

Network Services Company (NSC)gained their competitive advantage in their supply chain through maintaining good relationship among their customers and they also serve as distributor of some big names in manufacturing industry in line of printing paper and paper products, food service disposables and janitorial supplies. They also keep on track in supply chain by being competitive in meeting customers demand. Through the collaboration of the three kinds of manufacturing, their competitive advantage was gained. Because of this, they satisfy the needs of their customers and gained their trust.

The NSC gained advantage to their supply chain through proper collaboration with the involve people in their supply chain such as manufacturers and customers and also with their co-workers. They give emphasis and strenght of different manufacturers and they satisfy the needs of their customer by establishing and gaining trust from their customer.

Network Service Company build relationship with their supplier and customers that open them the opportunities to be flexible to offer products that their customer wants. NSC provides their customer the right product at the right time and right quantity resulting to customer satisfaction. Collaboration with their customers creat great competition between them that make them to adapt the changes in supply chain.

The competitive advantage on the supply chain of Network Service Company was acquired through the usage and appropriate collaboration of the three kinds of manufacturing companies. The power of the distributors greatly depends on the kind of producer they work with ,and because the manufacturers could utilize most of their various channels to mraket their demand greater and efficiency from the distributor they work with. MSC plays a big role from which they negotiate or work as arbitrary between the customer and the manufacturer. Effective supply chain between manufacturers, NSC, distributor and customers was constructed with the aid of of this process.

Network Services manage the relationships that they have with its suppliers. They work with three kinds of manufacturers; brand name manufacturer, business to business, and small manufacturers” says Walt. It becomes their edge because they are able to reach different markets, providing them the products they demand in right time at the right place. Having a large scale of mass collaboration, they are able to maintain a good status in terms of distributions. And that is why they gained competitive advantage.

Network Services Company gained their competitive advantage through having a working relationship with three different types of manufacturers that caters different types of products. One of the other advantages is that they are the only distributor that can defy the price squeeze and maintain reasonable margins. They sustain the needs of the customers and they create a competitive advantage to others.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain through working and collaborating with three kinds of manufacturers that offer different types of products.By this, they build distributor-customers relationships. Lastly, NCS can comply with the different demands of their customers.

Network service company create communication to other companies by working together to make the whole supply chain competitive.They should have a good contact with the manufacturers and good relations with customers. NSC proves that they are enough competitive and they will become successful.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain by working with three kinds of activities. Customers these days have many choices in what they buy and are very successful in driving down prices. Manufacturers are also able to use many different channels to market so they demand greater and greater performance from the distributors they work with.The company was able to build the what you called customer relationship. :)

The competitive advantage of NSC in its supply chain depends on how they could be able to handle their multiple kinds of manufacturers they've worked with. They determined the different behavior of these manufacturers and provides an effective strategy to be able to maintain a stable supply chain condition. Evaluating the market's behavior makes them more easy to predict thus, providing their customers a high quality of service that makes them build their "brand".

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain by having an effective supply chain that can create a strong competitive advantage for the firm involved within. This advantage is defined by the capabilities that an organization can develop for defensible position over its competitors. NCS will achieve this kind of goal by starting to create a strong collaboration with other companies and by working together to make the whole supply chain competitive.

They gain the respect in supply chain industry through the basic three types of manufacturers having different types of product.They ensure their relationship with their customers by monitoring it on a weekly basis.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain through working and collaborating with three kinds of manufacturers that offer different types of products. Through this, they can give what their customers need. They meet the flow and changes in the market. They also manage their relationship among their suppliers,with this they can respond to the sudden demand increase or surprising supply commotion. They assure that they deliver best quality to their customers. By helping and uniting with ach other, the NSC togetehr with the distributors and supplires, they can satisfy the needs of the customers while gaining profit and better relationship.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain through working and collaborating with three kinds of manufacturers that offer different types of products. Through this, they can give what their customers need. They meet the flow and changes in the market. They also manage their relationship among their suppliers,with this they can respond to the sudden demand increase or surprising supply commotion. They assure that they deliver best quality to their customers. By helping and uniting with each other, the NSC together with the distributors and suppliers, they can satisfy the needs of the customers while gaining profit and better relationship.

Network Services Company gained the competitive advantage in their supply chain through merging with the different kinds of manufacturing companies and maintaining good relationship among their customers. Through this, they were able to provide the needs of their customer more accurately in less time and they can be able to respond with their customers. With this, it can boost the relationship between their customer and the same time it can build high performance of service. Collaboration with their customers will create great harmonious relationship between them so that they adapt the changes in supply chain.

It is relevant or important that the Network Services have good relatioship with their suppliers. As mentioned in the article, the power of the distributor depends on the type of the manufacturer that he works with. Given the three types of manufacturer, the Network Services can work with all of them in the chain whether with the brand name manufacturer, the manufacturer or with the converters or smaller manufacturers. When the Network Services already established good working relationships with their suppliers, the Network Services can : 1) Supply the brand name manufacturer or the retail customer of the brand name manufacturer. 2) Supply the manufacturer and also the distributor. 3) Lastly, can supply the smaller manufacturer or what we call the converter. In other words, it is an advantage for network services to have these supply chain.

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