Dynamics Of HTDM In Asian Markets
Responsive supply chains are no more just a jargon. More and more organizations are adopting this route in order to stay competitive in this era of globalization. Last few years have seen economic downturn and thereby a trend of consolidations. There have been many a mergers and acquisitions.
Let us consider a high technology and discrete manufacturing organization for our discussion purpose. Demand volatility is most certainly the major impediment that the high technology players are confronted with. Supply chain volatility and particularly demand volatility, is on the rise, driven by increased global competition and changes in buying behavior. Consumer is the king as they all have said since time immemorial and consumer engagement pattern is redefined each day. Consumers expectations continue break their bars each day and their brand loyalty continuously decreases. Demand is growing for products specific to individual local markets, adding new layers of supply chain complexity. There is also a threat that the organizations of today are facing. And that is the threat of cannibalization. How can we forget the Motorola's of the world whose own products have cut throat of their siblings.
Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity - not a threat. Just as energy is the basis of life itself and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement and progress. The blood line of high-technology companies is bringing new products to market. But the shrinking design cycle times and explosive global competition combined with a shrinking market window have been the major factors contributing to the shrinking margins. The pie is shrinking and the stakes are getting higher each day. So in effect the shortening product life spans and rapid go-to-market are on the rise.
These organizations are trying to position themselves better against their peer by differentiation. Newer and better products are introduced each day. But how long do they stay. High Tech Manufacturing organizations operate in strict regulatory and compliance environment. For example business entities selling goods or services in Taiwan need to issue a Government Uniform Invoice (GUI) to the buyer at the time of purchase, as stipulated in the Time Limit for Issuing Sales Documentary Evidence section of Taiwan's Value-added and Non-value-added Business Tax Act.
Let us draw our focus on the Asian markets just for a moment. All points mentioned above are apt and relevant. Consumer's brand loyalty is diminishing with so many players in the market that can offer the same product for cheaper rates. Customer switching cost is really low and customer order cancellations are very common.
A High Tech organization that operates in this part of the world deals more in delivery orders than a traditional sales order. A delivery order is a logical grouping of a number or customer order lines that meet a pre-specified or dynamically chosen grouping criteria. The deliveries are released for picking and shipping at the very past moment after customer has granted its acceptance. These are simulatable functionality in Oracle EBS over and above the standard delivery groping criterions.
IT has to follow the business and business redefines the IT. In order to meet the business imperatives, technology imperatives need to be aligned.
