The New Age supplier
By Lance Dixon -- Purchasing, 9/2/1999
It used to be (and still is for many) that parts suppliers had sales representatives who called on customers, took orders, and shipped materials to customer factories or warehouses. Then, a few years ago, the concept of supplier-managed inventory appeared on the scene, making it commonplace for suppliers to carry out some level of planning and restocking of customer materials requirements. After supplier-managed inventory came supplier commodity management where suppliers have taken control and responsibility for a wide range of customer parts, doing planning, inventory control, and even direct production sequencing and deliveries to production lines. Today, we are beginning to see a more advanced version of supplier commodity management whereby customers are asking, even demanding, that their suppliers manage materials while also taking responsibility for parts they don't normally sell, eliminating the need for customers to interface with large numbers of suppliers. Approaches to material control and delivery to customers has reached a point where the term "supplier" hardly applies. Instead, it has been replaced by the new age of "supply chain integrator," the company that "does it all" for the customer. The trend blurs the lines between customer and supplier as customers seek new, higher levels of integration.
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