DHL SUPPLY CHAIN SHARES ITS VISION
‘ The next few years will only see accelerated changes in the way products are delivered …. they will be led by their customers who will determine how , when and what is provided ; pull rather than push ’ mind the next day , they visit the retail store to make some adjustments . Happy with their choice , they submit an order and their device is then configured and sent from the factory to their home .
Addressing these challenges is paramount and is increasingly leading to a shift in focus , from ‘ what the product is ’ to ‘ why the purchase is being made .’ There are often only a few stages of a product ’ s life cycle where personalisation can be added and the supply chain has an important role in helping retailers ; phone shops for example meet these changes in demand .
Flexibility in the supply chain operation is required to adapt to this and allow products to be stored in a ‘ vanilla ’ state before they are customised . Building on this , personalisation can be extended to the packaging of a product and supply chains will again need to adapt their operations to take this into account .
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