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sinha.rk.dr@gmail.com
Who is your most demanding customer?
Most supply chain professionals are aware of their most demanding customer, who keeps tightening the requirements and insists on perfect deliveries. The question is… do we love him, or do we avoid him? The answer to this crucial question will decide how your supply chain will evolve over time.
Companies which avoid their most demanding customer generally stagnate and are outperformed by their competitor who loves this customer. Demanding customers are truly a blessing, as they give us clear directions to improve our supply chain performance.
A small company in the US was a leader in its niche category. Their major customer was Walmart. When Walmart started tightening its OTIF requirement from the base level of 30%, the targets increased consistently from 33% initially to 95% within a couple of years! Did the company falter? No, it met all their targets consistently by strengthening its supply chain. As a result, the performance improved simultaneously on all the three fronts – availability, freshness, and profits!
Let’s start loving our most demanding customer and embrace him, for helping us in the Process of Ongoing Improvement (POOGI)!