Barriers to ImpIementing Responsive Systems
In reality, today’s best supply chain practices do not reflect either extreme anticipatory or responsive design. Most established firms remain, to a significant degree, committed to anticipatory practices. However, responsive strategies are rapidly emerging. Perhaps the greatest barrier to adopting responsive arrangements is the need for publicly held corporations to maintain planned quarterly profits. This accountability creates expectations concerning continued sales and financial results. Such expectations often drive promotional and pricing strategies to “load the channel” with inventory to create timely sales. Conversely, it is never timely to make a major reduction in channel inventory. Efforts to lean or deload inventory to implement a more responsive operating posture require the ability to absorb a one-time sale reduction among supply chain partners. Start-up ventures are ideally positioned to implement responsive fulfillment systems because they do not face the channel deload challenge.