THE ERA O F NET W O R K CO M P E T ITION
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seek to achieve a situation where there are benefits to both parties. Companies
like Nissan Motors in the UK have shown that this is not a utopian dream but can
be a practical reality.
The principle of co-makership can be extended in both directions in the supply
chain – upstream to suppliers and downstream to distributors, retailers and even
end users. The prizes to be won from successful co-makership potentially include
lower costs for all parties through reduced inventories and lower set-up costs as
a result of better schedule integration. The implications for competitive strategy
are profound. The new competitive paradigm is that supply chain competes with
supply chain and the success of ...