Graeme Altmann

Quick response in the Australian TCF industry

The principal objective of this study is to understand the impact that the adoption of quick response (QR) has had on manufacturing firms in the retail supply chain. The adoption of QR by six organisations within the Victorian textile clothing and footwear industry is used to review the impact that QR is having on the retail sector, especially in terms of the use of EDI as a pipeline accelerator to QR. We also investigate the level of systems integration, organisational affects and inter‐organisational impacts. The results of the research showed that while firms are positively affected by the adoption of QR, and may strengthen their relative competitive positions, retailers are taking the opportunity to shift their holding and distribution costs onto the supply chain to the detriment of both manufacturers and suppliers. Additionally, failure to adopt EDI between downstream trading partners limits the benefits received from QR at the organisational and inter‐organisational levels.

How intimate are Australian e‐business retail supply chains?

The adoption of electronic commerce strategies is becoming an important means of assisting industries, and indeed whole economies, to gain significant net benefits. The extent to which e‐commerce‐based strategies, such as quick response and efficient consumer response, might have an effect on local economies depends in part on how readily they are being adopted. The dominant form of adoption of these strategies is to be found in the business‐to‐business forms of e‐commerce. To be successful, business partners must be in a position to develop customer intimacy through sharing of information, to improve their stock replenishment practices, and enhance their levels of online customer support. This paper presents the initial results of a national survey completed in the retail sector of the Australian economy, that assesses how well Australian industry is responding to these e‐commerce challenges.

Using SSM to Improve Supply Chain Effectiveness

Supply chain partners are always striving to better coordinate their activities, to reduce inventories, and improve the responsiveness of the flow of goods and information. Techniques including quick response (QR), efficient consumer response (ECR) and just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing are often used to assist this process. While the mutual exchange of information is an essential component of success, information exchange by itself is insufficient to achieve maximum gains.

Competitive Systems—Seducing Cicero

Information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) have become the new catalyst of competition; changing ways of doing business, streamlining work practices, and improving the quality of product and services. While innovative organisations are adept at recognising new opportunities and capitalising on available technology, others impulsively act without understanding the complexities and risks. IS and IT have become the high priestess of managers—tempting, tantalising and seducing them into believing that competitive advantage is theirs for the taking. Yet the achievement of sustainable competitive success through IS remains one of the most elusive of all business goals. Achieving operational excellence through the use of IT can be real and substantial, but for many managers the challenge of confronting new technologies is daunting, and few even begin to see the possibilities for innovative applications of systems within their organisations.