In today鈥檚 world of fierce competition, ever鈥increasing consumer expectations, and rapidly changing trends, it is听paramount for manufacturing companies to establish connection with consumers and suppliers around the world.听In a market where one size wo苍鈥檛 fit all,听is there a better way to connect with consumers than听to tailor your offerings to cater to local needs and wants?听
The first step toward achieving this is localized manufacturing, i.e., setting up manufacturing units in places where there鈥s a听big market for your products.听Aside from bringing you closer to consumers, facilitating timely information and flexibility in meeting听迟丑别颈谤听diverse demands, it also gives you the advantage of low labor cost.听
Though the benefits of localization are many, there are some product categories for which听迟丑颈蝉听may not be the best solution.听C耻蝉迟辞尘别谤蝉听tend to听patronize certain luxury brands听because of the place they come from. In such cases, a 鈥淢ade in India鈥 or a 鈥淢ade in China鈥 tag听could prove to be disastrous. This is when traditional centralized manufacturing is necessary,听that is, having a single manufacturing unit with distribution centers wherever听needed.听听
The role of a听central documentation system
No matter what your manufacturing strategy is, 颈迟鈥s vital to have a central repository for all your data in place. Let鈥檚 look at the importance of a proper information system in both cases.听
Though the idea behind localization is to offer different products for different consumer segments, certain things like quality standards, procedures and policies, training guides for employees, best practices, etc.听must be听internally consistent. This calls for a single channel听of exchange between headquarters and all manufacturing units.听
How does the absence of a proper system for timely exchange of information affect centralized manufacturing? First, the company might lose business if the manufacturing department is苍鈥檛听aware of an increase in demand. Also,听the听unavailability of products听might induce customers to try out听your听competitors,听which, in the long run,听could even push you out of the market. Similarly, if the dispatch department is苍鈥檛 notified of an important shipment, leading to a delay in shipment, interdepartmental conflicts听can听arise. This听situation听can break down communication between departments听and affect productivity.听
Overcoming the听bullwhip听effect
Another supply chain issue common to both centralized and localized manufacturing is the bullwhip effect:听a听phenomenon in which small changes in the demand for a product听 are amplified as we move up the supply chain.听Why does听this happen and how do we manage it?听听听
- Demand forecasting:听Fearing an out-of-stock situation, everybody in the supply chain听adds a percentage to their demand forecast. The fix?听Having access to Point of Sale (POS) data through a shared documentation system.听
- Order batching:听Supply chain members resort to larger,听less听frequent orders to reduce ordering costs.听Having a centralized documentation system,听in which each supply chain member can update order quantity periodically and notify upstream members, is the solution to this.
- Lead time:听As the result of higher lead time, retailers and wholesalers order a听greater quantity than required to maintain a safety stock while waiting for their order to arrive. Having a seamless system for information exchange for all departments, as well as for all supply chain members, drastically reduces lead time.听
Now you鈥re probably thinking, 鈥淥kay. I know a documentation system is important. But I ca苍鈥檛 ask the IT team for new software听right听now!鈥澨Maybe you鈥檙e听just on a tight budget, or there are other expenses to allot for.
Relax! With 最新博彩网站听Docs, you can streamline information flow between different departments and between each member of the supply chain, without making any changes to your IT infrastructure and without any significant investment.听Just sign up for free and get started right away.
Please let us know听in the comments section below how听最新博彩网站听Docs worked for you. If you have any suggestions, feel free to write to us at听docs-support@zohocorp.com.听
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