12 Order Fulfillment Along the Supply Chain

Sources: Based on Ackerman and Padilla (2009), Fiorletta (2013), Pappas (2013), VICS (2013), and stanleyblackanddecker.com (access April 2014).

Questions

1. 
   What is DPR?
   
2. 
   What are the benefits of DPR?
   
3. 
   Describe the DPR system established by Stanley Black and Decker in collaboration with Lowe’s and Home Depot.
   
4. 
   What benefits did Stanley Black and Decker and Lowe’s realize with their DPR system?
   

SECTION 12.4 REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. 
   What is RFID?
   
2. 
   How can RFID improve supply chain visibility?
   
3. 
   Describe three RFID supply chain applications.
   
4. 
   What is CPFR?
   
5. 
   How can CPFR improve supply chain opera- tions of an e-commerce retailer?
   
6. 
   What are some of the reasons that CPFR has not enjoyed widespread use?
   

4. OTHER E-COMMERCE SUPPORT SERVICES

Depending on the nature and magnitude of its EC initiatives, a company may require several other support services. The services range from con- sulting to directory services, newsletters, special- ized search engines, a number of value-added services, and outsourced EC services.

Consulting Services

How does a firm learn how to do something that it has never done before? Many firms, both start- up and established companies, rely on outside consulting firms. Some of these firms have estab- lished a reputation in one area of expertise, whereas others are generalists. Some consultants even take equity (ownership) positions in the firms they advise. Some consultants will build, test, and deliver a working website and may even host it and maintain it for their clients. There are three broad categories of consulting firms.

The first type of consulting firm includes those that provide expertise in the area of EC but not in traditional business. In the past there were a num- ber of larger consulting firms specializing in EC services. Many of these firms were acquired or changed direction. Today, this expertise is pro- vided by smaller firms such as Candid software (candidinfo.com), Holbi (holbi.co.uk), and Lounge Lizard (loungelizard.com). These firms were all started prior to the dot-com bubble and are still in operation today.
The second type of consulting firm is a tradi- tional consulting company that maintains organi- zational units that focus on EC. These firms leverage their existing relationships with their cor- porate clients and offer EC value-added services. Representative companies are Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, McKinsey, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The third category of consulting firms is EC hardware and software vendors that provide
technology-consulting services. These include SAP, IBM, HP, Oracle, Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, and many more.