I agree with the article because…

First of all in our increasingly interconnected and interdependent global economy, the process of delivering supplies and finished goods from one place to another is getting more and more complicated. The best supply chains keys aren’t just speed and cost containment because the raising opportunities and problems created by globalization. For example, when supplier shifted manufacturing facilities from the United States to Asia to take advantage of the lower labor costs, if the company (located in USA.) is unable to adapt and agile, these incident will cost companies a lot because it will have to bear with the increase transportation cost.

Second, The inability of high-speed, low-cost supply chains to respond to unexpected changes in demand or supply; the obsession of companies with speed and costs causes supply chains to break down during the launch of new products (they cut down cost by refuse to create a buffer stock because it wanted to keep the inventory cost low); and efficient supply chains often fail to adapt to changes in the structures of markets (set up a fast and cost-effective supply chain by centralizing component procurement, assembly and testing, and order fulfillment in the same city).

Third, the ideal of efficiency (fast and inexpensive) should be replaced by a focus on agility, adaptability, and alignment. Top-performing supply chains are agile, adaptable, and aligned. These three qualities are quite different from one another, and all three are essential. Excellent supply chains react rapidly to sudden changes in demand or supply. The value of agility has risen in the last few years as the frequency of sudden shocks to supply chains has increased. Top-performing supply chains are adaptive, in the sense that they change over time to match the evolution of market structures and strategies. These supply chains identify structural shifts early on, filter out noise, and track important patterns. This enables the company to relocate facilities, change suppliers, and outsource manufacturing. The best supply chains are tailored to the nature of markets for products. Alignment matters because companies often looked out for their own interests and ignored those of their network partners. Consequently, supply chains performed poorly. A supply chain works well only if the risks, costs, and rewards of doing business are distributed fairly across the network. In fact, misaligned incentives are often the cause of excess inventory, stock-outs, incorrect forecasts, inadequate sales efforts, and even poor customer service. The fates of all supply chain partners are interlinked: If the firms work together to serve consumers, they will all win. However, they can do that only if incentives are aligned.

In conclusion, today managing the modern supply chain is not only a job that involves specialists in manufacturing, purchasing and distribution but also depend to the work of financial, information, operations, customer service and relationship between network partners of the company. The ideas that great supply chains only have to be fast and cheap no longer create the long-term profit and competitive advantage to the company. Conversely the best supply chains also have to be agility, adaptable and aligning interest.