Supply Chain Changes

"In recent years, many companies have improved performance, reducing cost, increasing service levels, reducing the bullwhip effect, and improving responsiveness to changes in the marketplace, by integrating the supply chain. In many cases, this was facilitated by the implementation of push-pull strategies and by a focus on demand-driven strategies" (Levi and Kaminsky, 2008). There are five foreseeable trends that could potentially affect Riordan manufacturing supply chain management process such as;

? Demand planning-Organizations in the 21st century are no longer focused on one specific entity within manufacturing, instead organizations embodied a paradigm shift that focuses on managing consumer demand. Qualitative and quantitative data is retrieved from primary and secondary sources that identifies current trends in consumer purchasing patterns, and product integration is evaluated to determine which products are in high demand and which products fall short. Demand planning is a strategy that requires forward thinking organizations to be mindful of consumer needs while simultaneously maintaining the effectiveness of daily operations. It is within the best interest of the company to anticipate the needs of consumers within the marketplace and to provide an innovative platform that realigns and reassesses organizational goals. Once the organization reviews the data collected from various sources the organization can further the developmental stages of facilitating a strategy that exceeds stakeholder perspectives.

? International growth-New opportunities began to emerge for organizations seeking to maximize shareholder wealth, and generate significant revenue. Globalization is a customized strategy that enables organizations to conduct business transactions with foreign countries. "The right supply chain design is critical to managing the changes brought about by rapid globalization. A well thought-out supply chain network design can optimize the organizational infrastructure and the cycle of materials through the network" (Hitachi Consulting Corporation (2009)

? Heightened competition and pricing strategies from external environments-part of the supply chain design framework includes increasing competitiveness through integrating unique pricing strategies (for example, Wal-mart has Rollback, and Payless Shoe Source has BOGO). Organizations are often vying for an aggressive approach to cost effectiveness of product implementation while altering the price of many products. For example, Starbucks provides coffee beverages that are delicious yet the average cup of coffee could range from $5 to $7 depending on whether the beverage is especially made to the consumers specifications. The Coffee Bean on the other hand is not as popular as Starbucks, however a consumer may purchase a cup of coffee at a reduced price for consumers with any budget size. In addition to the differentiation in pricing strategies between the two franchises, the corporations differs in terms of quality whereas one organization is highly preferred over the other one. As a result of coffee bean being a smaller franchise than Starbucks the overall quality of coffee is significantly different thus heightening the level of competitiveness.