You are the supply chain manager for a global electronics manufacturing company facing increasing pressure to improve delivery speed and responsiveness to customer demand. The company has recently experienced delays in fulfilling orders due to misalignment between supply and demand, resulting in customer dissatisfaction and lost sales. Your CEO has tasked you with developing a strategy to compete on time while ensuring that supply and demand are synchronized through effective use of information.

Question: Drawing on your knowledge of how firms compete on time and synchronize supply and demand through information, outline a comprehensive strategy for your company. Your strategy should address the following key areas:

Reducing Lead Times: What approaches can be implemented to reduce lead times in your supply chain?

Leveraging Information Technology: How can the company use information technology to better synchronize supply and demand?

Balancing Efficiency and Responsiveness: How will you balance the need for speed $($competing on time$)$ with the necessity of maintaining an efficient and cost$-$effective supply chain?

Risk Management: What risks are associated with your proposed strategy, and how can they be mitigated?

Provide specific examples, where possible, to support your recommendations.