Beyond CRM: A System to Bridge the Gap between the Customer and the Global Manufacturing Supply Chain

Increasingly industry realises that the key to achieving superior customer value is not only in the creation of new products or new product packages specific to particular market segments but also in achieving process excellence by integrating and coordinating different functions within the business and across the global supply chain for efficient fulfilment and service delivery. However, there is still a gap between the customer and the global supply network despite evidence that support this realisation. In this paper we present the design of a system that enables this integration by linking demand processes with supply processes to create a 'seamless demand pipeline' and control fulfilment. The aim of our paper is to discuss our approach for addressing the problem by presenting design requirements and our design framework, illustrate application with a case study example and by doing so inform industry and developers to stimulate further research in the area.