MARKETING STRATEGY TASK (TUTORIAL) - SUPPLY CHAIN

1. Why is supply chain strategy so important? 

Supply chain strategy is important because :

•  supply chain strategy are controlled to reduce costs
• constitutes the actual operations of that organization and the extended supply chain to meet a specific supply chain objective
• it is focuses on on driving down operational costs and maximizing efficiencies
• it is collaborate in ever-changing constellations to serve one or more markets in order to achieve some business goal specific to that collaboration

2. How to develop a supply chain strategy?

• understand the business strateg
• It means that businesspeople should clearly understand how the enterprise chooses to compete. Supply chain strategy is not simply a linear derivative of the business strategy. Supply chain strategy can be the enabler of the business strategy.
• assess the extended supply chain
•  this step is to conduct a detailed, realistic assessment of the capabilities that exist within the organization and even the extended supply chain.
• begin by closely scrutinizing your organization's asset and evaluate how well they support the strategy
• A formal supply chain assessment by a non-biased outside party may assist you in better understanding your operational strengths and opportunities for improvement
• develop an implementation plan
• The development of an implementation plan should include activities and tasks, roles, responsibilities, a corresponding timeline, and performance metrics.
• Establish a sub-team to shepherd the execution and provide project management responsibility to resolve issues and track status.
• develop considerations
• Cooperate and Collaborate with Your Partners – Throughout the development process remember to include your supply chain partners
• Ideally, seek out mutual goals that both organizations can execute on
• outsource where appropriate
• evaluating opportunities to outsource areas that are not your core competency

3. What are the differences that you have experience in buying a product through a physical retail store and an online store? What are the differences in their supply chain strategy?

a. The differences in buying product :

Physical retail store

• more complete information that we get from marketers
• we could directly see the product, so we could see the real product
• we could compare a product with another product line in the same shop (from the feature, specification, price, etc)
• waste time
• we need to be queue
• we could have window-shopping from the shop
• standard price
• easier to bargain the price
• not flexible (we need extra time to go to the store)

Online store

• information shows at the same time, but we should wait for marketer's respond until they online in their social network
• we don't know the real product, it could not be the same as in the picture shows
• addition charge for  transportation costs
• seller charges for higher prices
• the quality is uncertainty
• flexible (we could open the online store website anytime)
• more difficult to bargain the price
• easy to see the up to date product
• need several days to receive the product
• less of guarantee and warranty
• big issues of credit card and payment security (fraud)

 b. Differences in supply chain strategy :
Physical Retail Store :
producers -> distributor -> retailer -> marketer -> consumers or producers -> retailer -> marketer -> consumer
In physical retail store, the commonly supply chain strategy is "bricks and mortar"


Online Store :
the supply chain strategy that could be used :
catalog and direct marketing, direct selling, home shopping networks, vending, direct-response advertising