Case studies of supply chain technology implementation

This chapter comprises a series of case studies of specific companies that used and integrated one or more of the technologies, identified in the previous chapters, into their supply chain and logistics operations. This was accomplished by interviewing a select sample of firms to identify the type of technology they have implemented, the problems involved in implementation, necessary user training, and how this new technology interfaced with technology currently in use in the business, among other issues. The chapter describes the results of the interviews. The first part of the chapter discusses five different companies that implemented several of the technologies discussed in earlier chapters in this book. The companies asked not to be identified. The last part of the chapter discusses three companies that implemented inventory optimization software and the results, including impacts on cost savings, operations, and inventory management.