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Companies must face corporate challenges that impact Supply Chain
Management such as reengineering globalisation and outsourcing. Why is it so
important for companies to get products to their customers quickly? Faster
product availability is key to increasing sales, says R.Michael Donovan of Natick,
Mass., a management consultant specialising in manufacturing and information
systems. "Theres a substantial profit advantage for the extra time that you are
in the market and your competitor is not," he says. "If you can be there first, you
are likely to get more orders and more market share." The ability to deliver a
product faster also can make or break a sale. "If two alternatives [products]
appear to be equal and one is immediately available and the other will be
available in a week, which would you choose? Clearly, "Supply Chain
Management has an important role to play in moving goods more quickly to their
destination

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The type of the corporate culture affects the possibility of the individual
innovation and the organizational innovation. The bureaucratic culture restrains
the individual innovation and the corporations ability to make any
transformation against competition. The supportive culture is easiest to
encourage the individual innovation, and can also make corporations happy to
change for improving their competences. The effective culture can encourage
the individual innovation. However, its excessive emphasis on results will bring
on the contrary conflicts among staff, and becomes a big obstruction for the
organizational transformation. Hurley and Hut (1998) said that an organization
would provide more resources to encourage more innovation and develop
competences if its culture stresses innovation

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As companies increasingly use their supply chain to compete and gain market
share, spending and activity in this area are notably on the upswing. Technology
and process upgrades at forward-thinking companies clearly show that supply
chain excellence is more widely accepted as an element of overall business
strategy and that increasing value to customers is not just managements, but
everyones business. The shift in how companies view their supply chain is taking
hold. Examine how your company views its supply chain and consider your
answers to these basic questions. Does leadership view your supply chain as a

strategic competitive advantage? If not, are you considering outsourcing your


supply chain? Are the capacity strengths of your supply chain commonly known
and understood by leadership of the company? If so, how do they impact growth,
profitability and customer service? Hitachi Consulting works closely with leading
manufacturing and distribution companies and helps them address their
business challenges

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