Constant Change

With the Internet, competitive information is easily accessible globally. As a result, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to differentiate their offerings solely on product, location or price. Companies must therefore distinguish their product and service offerings by ensuring that their value chain provides effective and reliable delivery and fulfilment according to the consumers' individual preferences. High-tech companies are especially concerned daily with on-time delivery, time-to-market, system integration, internal and external supply-chain collaboration, and forecast accuracy. The pre-occupation of the management of these enterprises has been how best to achieve value add for their organisations, and to do this fast. For some, the logistics associated with e-business is an extension of strategies already in place.

As such, market trends are beginning to drive organizations to expand collaboration with trading partners along the value chain. In the highly competitive environment created by the Internet, market power has forced manufacturers and distributors to become more responsive to retailers and consumers, which has created a need for improved value chain planning capabilities. Manufacturers are being forced to reduce costs, decrease order cycle times and improve operating efficiencies. They are also increasingly under pressure to better manage the value chain, as they seek to improve manufacturing efficiency and logistics operations while maintaining flexibility and responsiveness to changing market conditions and customer demands. These pressures are compounded by the increasing complexity and globalisation of the interactions among suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers.

In this context, the term Express brings out two equally important concepts, that of speed, and that of “squeezing out the essence”. Express Value Add therefore signifies the speed at which value is squeezed out of value chains in order to derive maximum benefits from the chain for all its stake holders, namely manufacturers, distributors, service providers, customers, and so on. Technology makes it possible to unleash and express this value so that “time to benefit” is significantly reduced for the eco-system of the value chain. This is a top priority for business executives as it promises to rid companies of excess inventory and minimize the occurrence of shortage, which have direct impact to the bottom line. Effective supply chain management can reduce carrying costs by 20 to 30% over the long term.