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9 March 2012 | Angeline Albert
Aggressive cost management and creating a
flexible supply chain are major factors in helping businesses to grow market
share.
The annual Global survey of supply chain progress report by IT firm CSC and Texas Christian University's Neeley School of Business
and Supply Chain Management Review,
highlighted the continuing importance of supply chain managers as the economy
recovers. The study said these professionals are key contributors to
stabilising economic conditions by aggressively managing costs and crafting
flexible supply chains to retain their organisation’s market share.
According to supply chain managers worldwide
who responded to the survey, flexibility in the supply chain is created as a
result of investment in systems that enable greater visibility of suppliers.
Those professionals with more visibility and higher quality data said they are
helping their organisation outperform rivals. It allows these supply chain
managers to be more flexible and respond to new opportunities revealed by their
analytical tools.
Supply chain managers were asked about
supply chain collaboration and intelligence in terms of their acquisition of
data, analysis of data and how the combination was employed to create a
responsive supply chain. Respondents in the top 20 per cent of their industry
in terms of growth reported having above average levels of visibility and
analytics. Overall, 70 per cent of respondents said they have visibility of
their supply chain.
The study questioned supply chain
professionals in large and mid-sized manufacturing and services organisations
around the world, including North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.