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by Hallie Forcinio, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | Supply chain and purchasing strategies save HP $1 billion since 2001. |
Every day, HP delivers 1.3 million inkjet cartridges, 110,000 printers, 75,000 personal computer systems and 3,500 servers. Many of these products are produced by contract manufacturers or original design manufacturers. The company spends about $50 billion, or about 64% of its revenue, on supply chain activities. At this spending and complexity, supply chain mastery is an imperative discipline to control costs and foster collaborative relationships with suppliers. Supply chain optimization "has a direct impact on customer satisfaction, stock price and profitability," says Dick Conrad, senior vice president of supply chain, Global Operations, at HP (Palo Alto, CA). As a result, HP management assigns supply chain optimization a high priority. "We are continually focused on supply chain improvement," says Conrad. "The journey will never be done until we can do it for free or at a negative cost," he notes. "We have to be ... vigilant to ensure the supply chain is flexible and changing to meet ever increasing demands," he says. [Click to continue] |