With intense pressure to reduce costs while striving for best-in-class processes, executives continue to look to their supply chain to deliver more cost competitive and efficient ways to get their product to market.
Yet this is an area that we at PricewaterhouseCoopers see largely as untapped value for most companies. Our experience has shown that many companies continue to isolate elements of cost and service without considering the full extent of their supply chain. This results in savings and efficiencies in one area or business unit, but has a knock-on cost or a lag elsewhere in the chain. Instead of operating as a collection of separate business units, the well managed supply chain links suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and customers into one integrated channel that operates - and communicates - seamlessly. This allows for complete transparency on cost and process improvements.
At PricewaterhouseCoopers, we approach the supply chain as a set of integrated operating activities, as illustrated below:
Using the appraoch above, we provide the following services:
- Identify the key value links in the supply chain.
- Evaluate and re-engineer processes in both the internal and external relationship points on the supply chain.
- Understand the impact of technology on supply chain demands.
- Examine all aspects of the supply chain from forecasting, production planning, manufacturing, stock control, through to sales order processing and logistics.
- Apply data automation to key processes.
