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 |  | | How high-tech companies can overcome complexity in their supply chains | | McKinsey on Business Technology, Winter 2008
Bob Dvorak, Gautam Grover, Vivek Sharma
The supply chains of high-tech companies are globe-spanning marvels, but the complexity of such networks has made it harder to manage end-to-end operations. Many technology companies are grappling with volatility and disruptions across their supply networks, and rooting out waste is an ongoing challenge. As product life cycles shrink, inventories build up in the supply chains of some companies, while others cope with rising distribution costs, on-time delivery problems, or delays in getting new products to market. High-tech companies have let complexity undermine collaboration in their supply chains. The path to improvement lies in better cooperation with suppliers and retailers. | Launch this article (PDF - 264 KB) |
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| | | Getting More from CRM Through Case–Management | | McKinsey on Business Technology, Fall 2006
Many companies miss out on opportunities to make new sales or resolve customer service issues because they are not adept at passing leads and case histories across the boundaries of departments and business. Customer relationship management programs help keep track of customer preferences and histories, but they are often isolated in one part of a company. By strategically linking customer relationship systems, companies can make a routine of passing valuable sales or service data to the right person — for example, helping a teller pass a loan sales lead to the appropriate lending agent. Much of the technology is already in place, so that the main barrier to building these connections is often just the recognition that there is value in doing so. | | Launch this article (PDF - 1.56 MB) |
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| | | Getting Better Software into Manufactured Products | | McKinsey on Business Technology, Spring 2006
The embedded software that runs modern products as diverse as mobile phones and automobiles is becoming ever more valuable. But this software isn’t always up to the job, as the many software-related recalls of automobiles suggests. Similar problems beset other industries, so by sharing best practices, developers of embedded systems can make a step change in producing better software. | | Launch this article (PDF - 111 KB) |
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| | | Recapturing your Supply Chain Data | | McKinsey on Business Technology, Spring 2006
Many companies that outsourced parts of their supply chain have lost touch with critical data, but careful IT investments can rebuild important links. Some data are more important than other, depending on the type of product in the supply chain. Recapturing critical data will allow companies to choose suppliers based on a wide range of factors, including flexibility and total life cycle cost as well as price, so these decisions can promote long-term profitability. | | Launch this article (PDF - 100 KB) |
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| | | Using IT to Boost Call Center Performance | | | Functionality has improved and prices have dropped on technologies that can help call centers reduce costs and increase revenue. Two of these technologies—voice recognition and interactive voice response—can automate more phone calls with systems that are more sophisticated and thus more acceptable to customers. New IT systems can also help agents get relevant data faster, so they can resolve more issues on the first call and spend more time with high-value customers. | | Launch this article (PDF - 110 KB) |
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