Current Situation
Many companies still offer many individual products to satisfy ever-changing consumer taste, leading to increasing SKU proliferation. This also leads to larger inventories, slower inventory turns, and increased transportation and carrying costs.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of this use case is to reduce lead times and offer more product options to consumers, by offering pre-configured products stored in closer proximity to demand.
Technology Deployed
Cloud, big data/analytics, mobile, connectivity services, warehouse management systems (WMS), and transportation management systems (TMS)
Use Case Summary
Once orders received, they are kitted and delivered. Product postponement is a supply chain strategy that closely resembles this process. Product innovation in fast moving consumer product categories with high obsolescence (i.e., high-tech, fashion) can dramatically reduce lead times and offer consumers more product options. Visibility across all nodes is critical.