By using the matrix to plot the nature of the demand for each of their product families and its supply chain priorities,
managers can discover whether the process the company uses for supplying products is well
matched to the product type: an efficient process for functional products and a responsive process for
innovative products. Companies that have either an innovative product with an efficient supply
chain (upper right-hand cell) or a functional product with a responsive supply chain (lower left-hand
cell) tend to be the ones with problems.