The Two Fundamental Tasks of Business

A business enterprise has two fundamental tasks: All activities of an enterprise revolve around these two tasks.  Demand creation is about cultivating an idea, enrolling followers to that idea, and manifesting that idea in products or services that the followers would buy.  Demand fulfilment is about making available or delivering those products and services thatContinue reading “The Two Fundamental Tasks of Business”

A Primer on the Process of Order Creation & Fulfilment

The process of customer order creation and fulfilment is a core task of many enterprises. An order creation & fulfilment process in a business-to-business (B2B) relationship typically consists of the following steps: Enterprises who sell directly to end-users, that is business-to-consumer (B2C, e.g., supermarkets, e-commerce, restaurants) typically have a simpler process:  Enterprises who offer services,Continue reading “A Primer on the Process of Order Creation & Fulfilment”

We’re Expected to be Perfect & Productive in Demand Fulfilment

Supply chains encompass most, if not all, of what we use in our daily lives.  And for those of us who work in them, the supply chain professionals, we only have one basic task: Fulfil Demand And when we do that task: They expect nothing less.  We can’t afford to be less than perfect andContinue reading “We’re Expected to be Perfect & Productive in Demand Fulfilment”

What Our Customers Expect

What do our customers expect from us? The Total Quality movement from the 1980’s preached that the people we work with are either “suppliers” or “customers.”  We played the role of either one.  The idea of TQM was to do the right thing right the first time when we, as “suppliers,” serve our “customers.”  WeContinue reading “What Our Customers Expect”

Demand Fulfilment Begins Before the Order, Not After

As managers of our enterprises. we entice our customers to select our products & services.  Once our customers show interest in the items we are selling, the demand creation process comes closer to ending, and the demand fulfilment comes closer to beginning.  Hence, we don’t wait for customers to order when we start the fulfilmentContinue reading “Demand Fulfilment Begins Before the Order, Not After”

Dissecting Demand and Its Four (4) Stages

What do we think of when we discuss demand? We tap it, capture it, deliver it, and get people to pay for it, but do we really know what it is?  We equal demand with how long a line is at a restaurant, or by the sheer number of customers at a shop.  We sayContinue reading “Dissecting Demand and Its Four (4) Stages”