And rarely, are two transaction-makers alike. The secret to understanding the new customer is not locked within one solution or business process, but exists in critical places within a business. Integrating these pockets of knowledge into a more fluid, customer-centric platform is the only way companies can facilitate real conversations with customers. To truly empower their customers, businesses must be well-prepared to embrace the wide range of customer behaviors and touch points. Organizations today need to be in tune to what customers need and must build a much more nimble organization to respond to those needs.
Clients have much higher expectations regarding responsiveness.
In many cases the whole product needs to be customized for a specific customer and must be made available very, very quickly. Today the focal point is how do we deliver better customer service and that picks up on the point that Phil made around the agility and responsiveness of the supply chain. Supply chain management should be perceived as a driver of growth in the business as opposed to merely an area for cost cutting. From my perspective there are two things going in parallel. One is the increased amount of information now available to the customer, which they can use to enhance their negotiating position.