Achieving High Performance with Customer-Centric Manufacturing

Accenture - The essentials of a sound supply chain management strategy revolve around the age-old industry adage, “provide customers with what they want, when they want it and at the lowest possible cost.” In an effort to meet this objective, many businesses have focused heavily on reducing costs. This has led to the biggest move in manufacturing—shifting production to low-cost countries.

However, as the macroeconomic factors driving this movement are changing, companies are asking themselves the question, “Does offshoring remain as attractive as it once was in terms of cost, demand and supply?” They have realized that to achieve and sustain high performance in the face of these changes, they need to shift their focus from low-cost manufacturing to customer-centric manufacturing—a strategy that involves gaining the flexibility to meet the ever-changing consumer demand while still managing costs effectively.