Question

“Demand-pull supply chain systems have made traditional push systems obsolete”. Critically discuss this statement. Draw upon examples such as Zara, Barilla, Aldi, adidas and/or Dell inc. to support your argument.

Answer 1

Demand-pull supply chain systems have made traditional push systems obsolete. The pull systems lay emphasis on the customer demand, preferences and requirements and products and services are provided based on the specific demands of the customers. Whereas in the push systems, emphasis was laid on the bulk manufacturing of products and providing those items to the customers, without consideration of their actual requirements. Now the supply chain systems have been modified keeping in mind customer requirements and manufacturing and supplying customized products based on customer preferences. For example, clothing companies like Zara have modified their supply chain from push systems to pull systems and design, manufacture and supply clothes based on specific customer preferences and demand patters. Similarly other companies such as Adidas, Dell etc have followed similar pattern and adapt to latest technologies to identify customer preferences and develop products based on that.