Product Design in Supply Chain
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Product Design
With advancements in the supply chain, companies are increasingly developing products in a way that reduces shipping cost while supporting transportation in bulk. Every firm desires a system that is responsive to the consumer needs and agility to ensure continuous movement of their products to the final destination. Other than designing and managing distribution network, manufacturers focus on creating products to ease their transfer and minimize transportation-associated cost (Chase, & Jacobs, 2014). Other concerns such as environmental issues make producers rethink about goods and moving them around. Consumers are sensitive to the manner of design of their products, their packaging, and transportation.
As consumers express concern about how responsive the network is, manufacturers will concentrate on minimizing transportation cost. It is incumbent in them to design products in a way that promote their transportation and reduce cost. Firms are a shrinking cycle to eliminate costs and achieve balance of logistics and speed of delivery. The focus is on production on demand with manufacturers focusing on demand other than producing what will stay in the warehouse and end up to losing value (Chase, & Jacobs, 2014). Automobile companies produce goods that are complete and wait assembling. Other than giving the final product, parts of a model are produced, fixed and tested then later dismantled, packaged and transported.
With the dismantled parts, it is easier to package them, and the products will occupy lesser space than the final product would. Storage of the incomplete parts is also more accessible and occupies smaller space than the actual product. This also means that more products can be transported at the same time thus reducing the cost associated with space and shipment charges. The effectiveness of the product is established by determining the probability of the product being sold and the size of the order adjusted according to the likelihood of selling the product.