Are You the Missing Link in the Industry Chain Berto Asks

Are You the Missing Link in the Industry Chain Berto Asks

A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in supplying a product or service to a consumer. Supply chain activities involve the transformation of natural resources, raw materials, and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer.

To this end, RT’s resident cartoonist Berto muses he has found the missing link.

This is undoubtedly the case for the imaging supplies industry as well. In fact, RT designated a whole issue to the topic given the various models that have been used in the RT ImagingWorld magazine.

Some companies have been engaged in horizontal integration through the acquisition of related businesses to grow market share. In some cases, the acquired businesses and brands have been retained.

Then, there is vertical integration where one of the elements in the chain has acquired raw material suppliers, and/or assembly plants, and/or marketing companies and/or logistics to control every aspect of getting a product to the consumer.

The process of automation fits in here as well as the fourth industrial revolution (also called Industry 4.0) sees factories becoming smarter with the use of ‘just in time’ deliveries from suppliers and the analysis of data to better control production and supply to customers and to minimise warehousing costs as part of the total process.

Many buyers today say they will only buy products from companies where an unidentified supply chain is in place to ensure the consistency and quality of finished goods.