Balancing Global and Local Supply Planning Organizations: Globalization Seems to Rule, But Local Effects on Supply Chains are Poorly Understood, Says Geert Wullaert of S&V Management Consultants (Supply Chain Design‪)‬

During the past decade or so, many mergers and acquisitions have taken place among and between manufacturing and distribution companies. Many companies have been acquiring other companies, on the one hand, to expand their potential markets, and on the other to take advantage of the perceived economies of scale. Some companies, however, struggle to integrate the acquired operations into existing operations, and in many cases, the cost reductions foreseen at the start do not materialize. Business-to-business companies have gone through the same process of growth through acquisition and globalization, mainly with "economies of scale" as a driver. Beyond optimization/rationalization of the acquired assets, these companies recognize that there is also room for supply chain optimization. Companies change from a traditional approach where market business units own local (regional) DC's replenished by the production sites to an integrated supply chain approach. In the latter, the market business units become responsible for sales and a supply chain organization looks into supply and inventory for all markets and sites.