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Supply chain management & logistics

Supply chain management is certainly more than just a new name for familiar functions such as logistics, transportation or warehousing. For many companies, it has become an essential corporate function. Supply chain management sidesteps function-based corporate organization and integrates the core value creation functions into an end-to-end process.

In brief

Empty shelves. Cargo holds with room for more containers. The picture would look bleak to anyone, but can turn into a nightmare for logistics experts. After all, an efficient and reliable supply chain is a key enabler in satisfying customers' needs by punctually delivering high-quality products. Furthermore, for manufacturing and wholesale companies alike, this chain is also at the core of efforts to reduce costs – and in most cases presents significant potential for improvement.

Information technology, globalizing value chains and system sourcing are the issues that are making companies think long and hard about their supply chains. This is happening in virtually all industries. Companies that fail to adapt their organization, processes and fields of activity to these technological and structural changes are not only squandering the opportunity to gain competitive advantages. They also run the serious risk of losing touch with the new type of marketplace that is now emerging and will confront them all a few years from now.

our approach

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has developed a unique model to support its clients. For every supply chain project, we think from the inside out: starting from the strategic objectives set by the company, we identify the enablers that are required throughout the supply chain. These enablers in turn determine what actions are needed to drive supply chain performance and achieve the company's overall strategic goals.

Project work and continuous dialog with a distinguished international academic network have helped us identify six best practice philosophies:

 
Six best practice philosophies
 

By applying this model, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has been able to successfully complete numerous projects across all industries, helping companies to adopt these philosophies and significantly improve supply chain performance.

sample projects

Reorganizing merged retailers

Following the merger of two national retail champions in Europe, 50% of warehousing and 90% of transportation operations were outsourced. The two existing warehouse and distribution networks therefore had to be extensively reorganized. Drawing on our experience from similar projects, we aligned logistics strategy with corporate strategy and simultaneously merged the two networks.

Optimizing the distribution network

A project involving a top player in the consumer goods industry focused primarily on cutting transportation and warehousing costs and shortening delivery cycles. To ensure a strategic fit from the inside out, activities along the entire supply chain were reviewed – from order management to product pricing. We developed and quantified three scenarios for the future supply chain strategy as a function of overall market developments. We then drew up a roadmap of activities and recommended further actions.

Optimizing warehouse logistics and inventory

One of the world's largest automotive suppliers asked us to improve the performance of its warehousing and inventory operations. We identified full-year annual cost savings of USD 1.7 million from warehouse process reengineering alone. By using a dynamic logistics model based on industry benchmark rates, industry tenders and client information, we identified seven key cost drivers and pinpointed the implementation scenario that would cut costs and maximize quality. By optimizing the client's push inventory system, we tapped further potential, reducing both storage costs and working capital.

Optimizing the supply chain

We evaluated the supply chain of an international electronic component manufacturer, and identified potential savings of over USD 100 million by analyzing product value, insourcing assembly, slashing cycle times and reviewing manufacturing location profiles. As a result, new purchasing processes were defined, direct shipment to customers was introduced and logistics complexity was significantly reduced.

Our experts

Austria

Roland Falb

Managing Partner

Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 1 53602-201
E-mail: e-mail

 

Belgium

Eric Baart

Partner

Brussels, Belgium
Phone: +32 2 66103-25
E-mail: e-mail

 

Brazil

Thomas Kunze

Partner

São Paulo, Brazil
Phone: +55 11 3046-7111
E-mail: e-mail

 

China

Dereck Ji

Principal

Beijing, China
Phone: +86 10 8440 0088
E-mail: e-mail

 
Sarna Yeung

Principal

Shanghai, China
Phone: +86 21 52986677-871
E-mail: e-mail

 

France

Patrick Biecheler

Partner

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-902
E-mail: e-mail

 
Max Blanchet

Partner

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-907
E-mail: e-mail

 
Sébastien Cailliau

Principal

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-323
E-mail: e-mail

 

Partner

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-341
E-mail: e-mail

 
Michel Jacob

Partner

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-936
E-mail: e-mail

 
Jerome Petit

Principal

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-982
E-mail: e-mail

 
Philippe Plouvier

Partner

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-935
E-mail: e-mail

 
Stephane Potier

Partner

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-459
E-mail: e-mail

 
Jérome Rein

Principal

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-920
E-mail: e-mail

 

Principal

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 53670-941
E-mail: e-mail

 
Henri-Pierre Vacher

Principal

Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 70 39 4-274
E-mail: e-mail

 

Germany

Axel Schmidt

Partner and Head of Operations Strategy

Stuttgart, Germany
Phone: +49 711 3275-7322
E-mail: e-mail

 
Michael Dohrmann

Partner

Munich, Germany
Phone: +49 89 9230-8276
E-mail: e-mail

 
Jochen Gleisberg

Partner

Stuttgart, Germany
Phone: +49 711 3275-7221
E-mail: e-mail

 
Manfred Hader

Partner

Hamburg, Germany
Phone: +49 40 37631-4327
E-mail: e-mail

 
Zun-Gon Kim

Partner

Munich, Germany
Phone: +49 89 9230-8609
E-mail: e-mail

 
Oliver Knapp

Partner

Stuttgart, Germany
Phone: +49 711 3275-7213
E-mail: e-mail

 
Thomas Kwasniok

Partner

Düsseldorf, Germany
Phone: +49 211 4389-2104
E-mail: e-mail

 
Stephan Köhler

Partner

München, Germany
Phone: +49 89 9230-8697
E-mail: e-mail

 

Principal

Frankfurt, Germany
Phone: +49 69 29924-6143
E-mail: e-mail

 
Patrick Mannsperger

Partner

Munich, Germany
Phone: +49 89 9230-8798
E-mail: e-mail

 
Müller Sarmiento

Partner and Head of Consumer Goods & Retail

Munich, Germany
Phone: +49 89 9230-8489
E-mail: e-mail

 
Stefan Pötzl

Principal

Stuttgart, Germany
Phone: +49 711 3275-7332
E-mail: e-mail

 
Thomas Rinn

Partner

Stuttgart, Germany
Phone: +49 711 3275-7349
E-mail: e-mail

 
Regina Schmidt

Partner

Munich, Germany
Phone: +49 89 9230-8747
E-mail: e-mail

 
Andreas Schwilling

Partner

Munich, Germany
Phone: +49 89 9230-8364
E-mail: e-mail

 

Principal

Stuttgart, Germany
Phone: +49 711 3275 -7225
E-mail: e-mail

 

Italy

Alberto de Monte

Principal

Milan, Italy
Phone: +39 02 29501
E-mail: e-mail

 

Japan

Satoshi Nagashima

Partner

Tokyo, Japan
Phone: +81 3 35876-660
E-mail: e-mail

 
Ryuji Ono

Partner

Tokyo, Japan
Phone: +81 3 35876-660
E-mail: e-mail

 

Latvia

Uwe Kumm

Partner

Moscow, Russia
Phone: +7 495 287 92 46
E-mail: e-mail

 

Netherlands

Alexander Belderok

Partner

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Phone: +31 20 7960-641
E-mail: e-mail

 

Russia

Uwe Kumm

Partner

Moscow, Russia
Phone: +7 495 287 92 46
E-mail: e-mail

 

Sweden

Hauke Bossen

Principal

Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 410438 - 98
E-mail: e-mail

 
Jan Olovsson

Partner

Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 410438 - 92
E-mail: e-mail

 

Switzerland

Matthias Hanke

Partner

Zurich, Switzerland
Phone: +41 43 336-8650
E-mail: e-mail

 

Turkey

Erkut Uludag

Partner

Istanbul, Turkey
Phone: +90 212 2152451
E-mail: e-mail

 

Ukraine

Uwe Kumm

Partner

Moscow, Russia
Phone: +7 495 287 92 46
E-mail: e-mail

 

United Kingdom

Paul Sloman

Partner

London, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 30751-116
E-mail: e-mail

 

Further reading

Global Supply Chain Management Excellence

Study, 2009

Study by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, WHU, Stanford University and ETH Zurich shows: supply chain management significantly impacts company performance ... …  >>

 
Operations flexibility in process industries

Study, 2009

This study covers three process industries with similar characteristics in operations: specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals and consumer care …  >>

 

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