summerize main ideas$-$ uring difficult economic times, many organizations have had to

make tough choices regarding inventory management. A pull

strategy is one option many companies are considering as the

economy slowly recovers.

In the same family as lean manufacturing processes, a

pull strategy is characterized by customer demand $$pulling$$

a product or service through the supply chain, while a push

strategy has companies $$pushing$$ a product or service out to the customer base

$($see chart on page $25).$ Many companies currently operate with a mix of these

strategies. With today$$s volatile customer markets, organizations are planning

against the frequent changes by adding demand$-$driven aspects to their supply

chains. While there are benefits to a pull strategy, it$$s not an inventory management strategy without challenges.

$$The advantages of having a demand pull supply chain strategy are indisputable,$$ says Keith McNeil, an associate principal with Proactive Human

Capital in Melbourne, Australia. $$The closer you can reach a situation where

the supply chain is activated by an individual customer order, the closer you get

to having zero inventory, zero risk of obsolescence and markdowns in price.

Your business will also be more abreast of changing customer preferences and

so on$.$ These supply chains are likely to have minimum waste and shorter

cycle times, and McNeil points out that the Gartner Group$$s latest Supply Chain

Top $25$ list of demand$-$driven supply chains always includes successful companies such as Apple, Dell, Amazon and Wal$-$Mart. $$It is reasonable to say that

the evidence is there that being demand$-$driven also translates into increased

profitability and brand value.$$