5 pillars of success – Customers first
EUROPE printers produced in southern China are also shipped via this route .
HP has also been championing the rights of workers in the supply chain for decades . For instance , in China the company has been working with its manufacturing partner to ensure legal rights in areas such as overtime payments . “ Sustainability has been one of the best kept secrets about HP , but Gartner has rightly pointed it out as an area where we excel ,” Schmitz says . “ The big commercial customers are very conscious about where their goods come from and more and more this is becoming a key part in contractual agreements .” In Europe , HP was in a leading position in supply chain management when it became visible in the revitalisation of the Greek port of Piraeus . Schmitz continues : “ In the past all of our sea freight into Europe went via Rotterdam , but several years ago we identified an opportunity to go via Greece and worked closely with our partners to develop the harbour . We have used that base to reduce costs and turnaround times while also supporting the local economy .”
5 pillars of success – Customers first
The success criteria for a supply chain are often measured with financials , however for HP it is determined by the satisfaction of customers . And this means catering to wide ranging set of requirements .
Schmitz explains : “ Different customers have different expectations , for example we know that big corporate customers want something different than a European retailer in our distribution channel . In some areas predictability is the key to customer satisfaction , in others it is about speed or special services . As well as using our own internal metrics , we communicate a lot with customers about their metrics of evaluating us to see whether we are performing the best we can .”
In recent years a concept of a ‘ perfect order ’ was introduced , which not only measures delivery performance but also follows the concept of the right product , at the right time , in the right quality and with the paperwork at the customer . A series of projects
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