LOGISTIC S & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
214
In the past it was more often the case that organisations were structured and
managed on the basis of optimising their own operations with little regard for the
way in which they interfaced with suppliers or, indeed, customers. The business
model was essentially ‘transactional’, meaning that products and services were
bought and sold on an arm’s-length basis and that there was little enthusiasm for
the concept of longer-term, mutually dependent relationships. The end result was
often a high-cost, low-quality solution for the final customer in the chain.
This emerging competitive paradigm is in stark contrast to the conventional
model. It suggests that in today’s challenging global markets, ...