Building a Chain of Customers: Linking Business Functions to Create the World Class Company

Abstract

Building on two previous works, Japanese Techniques and World Class Manufacturing - the latter regarded by the prestigious journal Quality Progress as a milestone in the second Industrial Revolution - Richard Schonberger introduces a new concept. He argues that each of the four main business functions - design, manufacturing, accounting, and marketing - becomes a for the other three and that the many links between and within departments form a continuous of customers that extends to those who buy the product. Through hundreds of real company examples of the customer chain of action, Dr Schonberger shows how it quickens response rates, increases product quality, lowers costs, adds greater flexibility to change volume and product mix and takes sales away from the laggard competition.