Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 6th Edition

Time-based competition

Customers in all markets, industrial or consumer, are increasingly time-sensitive.1 In other words they value time and this is reflected in their purchasing behaviour. Thus, for example, in industrial markets buyers tend to source from suppliers with the shortest lead-times who can meet their quality specification at an acceptable price. In consumer markets, as we highlighted in Chapter 2, customers make their choice from amongst the brands available at the time; hence if the preferred brand is out-of-stock it is quite likely that a substitute brand will be purchased instead.

Customers in all markets, industrial or consumer, are increasingly time-sensitive.

In the past it was often the case that price was paramount as ...