Bringing Products To Market: Supply Chains Vs. Value Webs

Abstract

<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 34.2pt 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Companies scramble to satisfy ever-increasing customer demands for customized products, on-time delivery, and complete order fulfillment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Simultaneously, competition intensifies accompanied by revolutionary changes in the structure of distribution channels. Traditional supply chains are increasingly replaced by integrated supply chains, which, in turn, are challenged by leading-edge value webs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Managers are now faced with a strategic choice: supply chain or value web?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Several situational factors – object of organizational focus (i.e., product or customer), type of product offered, target market strategy, organizational competencies, and resource constraints govern the decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><strong> </strong></span></span></span></p>