The SCM-CRM Connection

The various disciplines framework is useful for viewing how
traditional SCM and CRM approaches have evolved and why
they will inevitably fall short in terms of generating strategic
advantage in the modern marketplace.

For example, can be a scale-focused, operationally efficient organization
typically concentrates its efforts on refining its supply
chain. Cost is everything, leading the company in its most not only to
reduce its inventories and streamline its procurement
processes (using, for example, electronic data interchange,
vendor-managed inventory, and also just-in-time processes), but
also to narrow its products and services to as few offerings
as possible. In this way, the company could reasonably
ensure that it could manage the entire supply chain in a reasonably
cost-efficient manner. Customer focus isn’t entirely
absent.

 It’s simply that the overwhelming share of management
attention is elsewhere. The rule: build it – or provide it
– at the lowest cost, and customers will come.
At the other end of the spectrum are customer-intimate
competitors. These firms focus on building rich customer
relationships rather than optimizing the supply chain. Supply
chain management is a function that must be at least
competently executed by such a firm, but the company’s
attention is centered on offering products and services that
improve its relationships with key clients.
Product leadership companies occupy the middle ground of
the SCM-CRM continuum. While relying on customer
insights and CRM to anticipate customer needs, a steady
stream of new products requiring new suppliers also means
that such a company is likely to see SCM as a critical success
factor in its business. The issue, however, is that collaborative
planning of supply and demand remains haphazard
because each new product or service is managed almost like
a startup. Whatever its capabilities in SCM or CRM, these
companies must continually integrate their processes with
new suppliers and customers.