Bob Haugen wrote:
>Dell and Walmart are killers because of their supply
>chains, which of course required business genius
>and better business models to organize. They also
>enforce a lot of uniformity of process at least in
>their tier 1 suppliers, as do auto companies.
This is a good example of my point. Dell and Walmart are very successful and
competitive *because* they did something different and forced their supply chain to
comply with their better business model. If a vendor has Dell or Walmart as its only
customer, then there is no issue for that vendor. Competition created a single great
model here to follow (standardization).
More likely a Dell vendor also supplies dozens of other manufacturers and is therefore
following multiple business models outside the Dell model. Some using a common model,
others maybe no. Maybe some of these also have their own business model that they are
expecting to give them an advantage. Thus competition forcing multiple models
(diversification).
Truthfully I think there is a constant ebb and flow of diversity vs. unification in
standards. Consider the many multiple diskette formats early on until we standardized
on the 1.44. (Is there still an 2.88?) Then a new peripheral comes along like the 20
Meg. diskettes, Jazz, Zip and other removable storage and we go though this ebb and
flow all over again. Then: serial vs. parallel. Now: USB vs. firewire. Does it ever
really stop?
Business processes are similar. Competition eventually evolves some common standards.
Except then someone (like Dell or WalMart) is always coming in with a new better idea
(or different) and we go through diversity all over again. Perhaps in the much bigger
picture, this ebb and flow is an inextricable part of life driven by the ebb and flow
of the "great cosmic dance" described in the Vedas. In this case, there is no end. :)
"The great thing about computer standards is that there are so many to choose from".
> Global universal goodness? Not likely...
Maybe we need to be like dell or Walmart and enforce an XML standard for that!
<Global>
<Universal status="goodness" />
</Global>
;-)
Steve
PS. I did my APICS CPIM certification years ago. It is a great study!
Steve Bollinger 408-853-8478
Cisco Systems B2B Service Logistics Pjt
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