Operations
The Impact of the Product Lifecycle on Supply Chain Management
The management of the supply chain is an important element of operations. The supply chain configuration, including issues such as make or buy decisions, as well as type of supply chain deliveries, needs to match the products that are being supplied and may be heavily influenced by the lifecycle stage, and the type of demand and production that emerges during the different stages (Aitken et al., 2003). To consider this it is necessary first to look at the product lifecycle and then at how it may impact on the supply chain management,
The lifecycle is traditionally presented as having five stages; development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline (Kotler and Armstrong, 2013). The development stage is the stage prior to the product being released on the market, the introduction is the time when the product reaches the market and sales start, but are slow, growth sees the pace of sales increase, and may be sub-divided into early growth and later growth, Maturity is seen when the market has reached it full potential and the peak of sales level, after this the sales levels will reduce and the market is said to be in decline. For many product manufacturers will seek to renew the product lifecycle during or just before maturity to prevent the decline being reached. It is also important to note that the length of the product lifecycle can vary...
The first consideration may be to look at the type of product that is being produced. This is important as the same product may be perceived differently during the various stages of its lifecycle production (Aitken et al., 2003). Fisher (1997) broke products and the supporting manufacturing and supply chain operations into two categories; products were either innovative or functional, manufacturing processes, and therefore the support supply chain activities may then be focusing on efficiently, or responsiveness, as the process cannot be fully optimized for both. Fisher argued innovative products would require a responsive process, whereas functional products which are associated with the mass markets would require a focus on efficiency, if the converse were true there would be a mismatch (Fisher, 1997).
This indicates that products at the beginning of a lifecycle are often innovative, they are new, and may need to be adapted or changed,…
This practically also pays big dividends for manufacturers as they continue to strive to keep their Energy STAR Compliance ratings on products, leading to lower costs for power supply, electrical system integration and less product wear due to more efficient use of energy. Studies also indicate that Energy STAR compliance, when designed in as part of the DfE initiatives in a PLM system, can have an exceptionally high accumulative
Results from the study by Petersen, Ragatz and Monczka show that effective collaborative planning depends on information quality, and the trust level firms share. The authors purport: "Collaborative planning activities between supply chain partners are expected to lead to better performing supply chains" (Petersen, Ragatz & Monczka, Introduction section ¶ 1). In addition, numerous other researchers have also explored the perception relating to supplier alliances, that enhanced collaborative planning
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For second-tier PC manufacturers this is the phase of the product lifecycle where pricing becomes the competitive weapon of choice, and in many cases, the other aspects of the marketing mix are ignored. Pricing as the only differentiator used during this phase often impacts the largest, most capital-intensive vendors the greatest. Prior to their acquisition by HP, Compaq was well-known for having one of the highest cost structures in
Week 6 Chapter Questions 7-10. What is Pick-To-Light Technology and How Can it Improve Order Picking? Pick-to-light technology is an innovation comprising of different forms of lights arranged on racks or shelves in the order picking assembly line (Murphy & Knemeyer, 2014). The organization of the lights helps in identifying the objects required for a particular order. The technology is advantageous because employees simply follow the light from one pick to the
RIM Discuss this product in terms of its repositioned target market demographics using U.S. Census Data. In regards to U.S. Census Data, the target market demographic show promise. The repositioned product will focus on high level and medium income level people. These individuals tend to be high lifestyle and business professionals. The product is full of applications and latest operating system that is helpful for professionals and other business persons to accomplish