Follett’s value chain includes all of the activities that enable it to sell its products to customers. This value chain consists of the same primary and secondary activities defined by Michael Porter. For the most part, Follett does not manufacture the products it sells in the campus bookstore. It relies on a network of suppliers across several industries including book publishing, clothing and gifts, office supplies and technology products. It is crucial to understand that Follett’s value chain does not solely result in consumable goods. A large part of its value chain involves the delivery of campus services including technology solutions that drive the efficient digital delivery of affordable course material solutions. Overall, the
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Porter categorized inbound logistics as a primary function and procurement as a secondary function. However, the two are closely related in the overall supply chain management process. The most common supply chain processes in a Follett bookstore are warehousing, sourcing, logistics, and customer service.
A McKinsey (n.d.) report detailed the need for retailers to revolutionize their supply chain processes to accommodate the multichannel consumer’s expectations for speed and convenience by turning store locations into fulfillment centers, having greater flexibility in inventory management, and becoming conductors of direct to vendor fulfillment. Evolving to the level Amazon.com’s level of supply chain management is practically impossible for the multichannel retailer. However, Follett’s 1,200-store footprint throughout the United States and Canada allowed it to expand its ability to serve its customers in a more efficiently. Traditionally, Follett stores operated as independent silos. For example, the Cleveland State University bookstore only served customers of Cleveland State. The online store only reflected inventory located within the store. If a customer ordered an item that was out …show more content…
The previous example of networking store inventory systems to optimize online store fulfillment and inventory balancing demonstrated this. This technology development also extended into the Follett bookstores’ course materials management system. Follett’s first course materials management system was a DOS-based application that did not reflect real-time availability. From an inventory management and value chain perspective, this was problematic. In 2005, Follett rolled out a new Windows-based course materials management system called Coursetracks. The new system, located on a local store server, recorded inventory levels in near real-time and had an impact on the value chain in several
Porter categorized inbound logistics as a primary function and procurement as a secondary function. However, the two are closely related in the overall supply chain management process. The most common supply chain processes in a Follett bookstore are warehousing, sourcing, logistics, and customer service.
A McKinsey (n.d.) report detailed the need for retailers to revolutionize their supply chain processes to accommodate the multichannel consumer’s expectations for speed and convenience by turning store locations into fulfillment centers, having greater flexibility in inventory management, and becoming conductors of direct to vendor fulfillment. Evolving to the level Amazon.com’s level of supply chain management is practically impossible for the multichannel retailer. However, Follett’s 1,200-store footprint throughout the United States and Canada allowed it to expand its ability to serve its customers in a more efficiently. Traditionally, Follett stores operated as independent silos. For example, the Cleveland State University bookstore only served customers of Cleveland State. The online store only reflected inventory located within the store. If a customer ordered an item that was out …show more content…
The previous example of networking store inventory systems to optimize online store fulfillment and inventory balancing demonstrated this. This technology development also extended into the Follett bookstores’ course materials management system. Follett’s first course materials management system was a DOS-based application that did not reflect real-time availability. From an inventory management and value chain perspective, this was problematic. In 2005, Follett rolled out a new Windows-based course materials management system called Coursetracks. The new system, located on a local store server, recorded inventory levels in near real-time and had an impact on the value chain in several