There is no straightforward answer to this question.
Supply chains have multiple stakeholders. These stakeholders consist of individuals and enterprises which serve as the links of the supply chains. Every enterprise also has an internal supply chain, which makes the people of the enterprise stakeholders to the larger supply chain.
Stakeholders, therefore, would differ on what they want from supply chains.
I could, however, surmise the sentiments of some stakeholders from different parts of the supply chain:
For end-users or customers, their answers would be like:
I want my orders delivered on time and complete, without errors and in good condition.
I want available products when I go to the store to buy them.
For enterprises supplying the end-users or customers, their answers may be like:
I want deliveries of finished products to be on-time, complete, at the right quality & service to customers and at the lowest highest profit margin.
The procurement managers of these same enterprises would add:
I want vendors to deliver merchandise & services at lowest price and at longest possible payment terms, with no errors, and conforming to agreed specifications & delivery instructions.
For vendors supplying to the enterprises serving end-users or customers, their answers may be like:
I want to deliver merchandise and services which conform to agreed purchase contract terms & conditions and which the client enterprises would readily accept and therefore pay for promptly.
For the vendors who represent the very start of many supply chains or who what we may call the sources (e.g., mining, farms, oil drilling companies, utility firms), their answers may be like:
I want to sell and supply all of what I produce and collect from clients at the highest profit margin.
Depending on where you work, the answers to the question, what you want from the supply chain, would differ.
Executives of some large enterprises try to claim entire supply chains as their own by arm-twisting vendors & customers to accept the enterprises’ views or standards. But as much as they may succeed for some, they never really do for all who are in the supply chain. Some source suppliers will tell clients to ‘take it or leave it’ when it comes to critical commodities or needed energy items (e.g., fuel, electricity, water).
The ideal is for enterprises along the supply chain to find common ground and collaborate on projects to improve their operations and share the benefits. But as complex and large many supply chains are, it may be wise we should from the start not impose our views on vendors, customers, & service providers.
Many enterprises negotiate with supply chain counterparts to get what they want from supply chains, but we should also listen and identify where the weak links are. And from there, work with stakeholders to strengthen them
Ellery's Essays 