Do you think supply chain design and planning should be as rigid as possible or as flexible as possible? Give an example. One of the key aspects of Dell business model was postponement of the assembly until receiving customer orders. Explain how postponement can help reduce inventory.

Answered: Do you think supply chain design and…

Practical Management Science

6th Edition

ISBN:9781337406659

Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.

Publisher:WINSTON, Wayne L.

Chapter2: Introduction To Spreadsheet Modeling

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 20P: Julie James is opening a lemonade stand. She believes the fixed cost per week of running the stand...

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Question

Do you think supply chain design and planning should be as rigid as possible or as flexible as possible? Give an example.

One of the key aspects of Dell business model was postponement of the assembly until receiving customer orders. Explain how postponement can help reduce inventory.

Expert Solution

Step 1

The polar opposite of a flexible supply network is a stiff supply chain. There may be a more appropriate example for a supply chain than strips of lath, but I believe it serves the purpose. The problem for supply chain executives is to strike the appropriate balance between a supply chain that is too lean (not resilient enough but saves money) and one that is too inflexible (robust and redundant that it is too costly to maintain and remain competitive)