Total cycle time compression and the agile supply chain

Agility is herein interpreted as using market knowledge and a virtual corporation to exploit profitable opportunities in a volatile market place. This requires the slashing of process lead times throughout the chain. However, as we demonstrate in the paper such action is simply not enough to enable agility. Similar steps must also be taken to reduce information lead times, resulting in the concept of the "information enriched" supply chain. Simulation results obtained on realistic models of fashion trade supply chains confirm the superior agility resulting from information enrichment. The paper concludes with a Route-Map indicating the steps to be taken in achieving supply chain agility in real world scenarios. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.