1. Customer value can be determined by the benefit service provider’s offers to the customers. Customer value can be in any form; it can be in the form of discount on product or better quality at lesser price. Customer value can also be offered by providing good services. In the given case TAL Apparel Ltd. is offering customer value to its customer by provide excellent services and performing tasks that even customer himself can not perform in the same time and at the same cost. TAL even provided delivery service in very less time and based on the requirements they supplied consignment through flight without thinking about the cost. So to keep your customer satisfies and meeting or exceeding his expectation is value that company offers to its customers.
2. Customer value can be measured by analyzing customer response/ feedback on the services. If customer is repeatedly availing services, it shows that he is satisfied with the services. Customer complaint is another method to measure the customer value. If customer is not making any complaint means he is not having any problem with the product or service. In the case J.C. Penny was satisfied with the TAL services that is the reason they have given TAL opportunities to introduce service like inventory management, designing and styling cloths etc.
3. Supply chain is a process that supply goods or services from manufacturer to end user i.e. customer. Supply chain strategy should be designed keeping in mind the product characteristics. Supply chain should consider product life cycle, product demand, shelf life of the product etc. in the given case TAL deployed a system at customers counter that provide instant detail regarding any sales happening at the counter. Based on the records TAL refill the product very quickly. In the time of urgent need TAL adopt fast process of delivery. This strategy helps in keeping the records of sales data to analyze future trends and not missing any sales opportunity due to unavailability of product.
4. Information technology can effectively be used to make the supply chain process better. With the help of information technology lot of data analysis can be performed and a track record of sales and inventory can also be developed. In the given case TAL is able to perform its task effectively due to information technology. By connecting its server with customer server, TAL get all the information relate with sales instantly. The data helps in understanding customer needs better like what design, color, size, fabric material, price range customer is preferring. Based on the analysis TAL supply products to Penny. The whole Information system resulted in increased sales and value to the customer.
5. Supply chain directly contributes towards customer value by increasing the sales, decreasing the cost and effective inventory management. Before taking services from TAL, Penny was maintaining an inventory of 6 months in warehouse and three months in the counter. Transportation cost of goods is also high. When end user is delighted with the service without making any additional efforts it is called customer value.
6. In present scenario competition is very high and for any company it’s very important to provide best quality products/ services to the customers. To delight Customers Company need to understand the customer requirements. Company need to find out what all things it can provide to customer that its competitors are not provide. A good service along with other things like value for money, any discount, any gift with the product and quick complaint resolve mechanism may add value to existing offerings. All those possible factors that keep customers satisfy and make him to do a repeat purchase, add value to company’s offerings.
Reference
David Simchi-Levi and Philip Kaminsky. (2008). Designing and Managing the Supply Chain. Concepts, Strategies, and Case Studies. New York: McGraw-Hill.
