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Should you segment your Supply Chain?
Companies often segment their market based on consumer behaviour. Quite a few of them end up segmenting it based on their unique brands and sales channels.
While this way of segmentation generally works for Marketing and Sales functions, should we segment the backend supply chain as well? Some supply chain professionals argue in its favour, saying that it provides better focus for the team to serve specific consumer segments.
My experience with several consumer companies, however, indicates that supply chain resources should not be segmented, but rather pooled together for better service to all the segments. What can be segmented is the set of policies, processes, and practices to provide differential treatment to each segment. However, the backend resources of warehousing, logistics, manufacturing, and procurement should be combined. This would help in providing higher levels of flexibility and responsiveness to serve various segments.
Would love to hear your views on what works in your context.