482 Principles of Supply Chain Management
could be involved if customers have questions regarding the billing, maintenance, promo-
tion, nancing, and productquality. Business partners can also interact with each other via
associations, conferencing, and expos for collaboration opportunities. Companies should
collect information about customers to analyze their behavior and strategies. These analyses
help a company conceive an effective marketing and sales strategy.
Reverse Supply Chain
Information ows will also be needed as part of the reverse supply chain. As described
in Chapter 10, reverse supply chains are not normally as well organized and routine as
forward supply chains. Consequently, the information ows may also be less rigidly
str ...