Why is it that when it comes to operational excellence, the supply side has made more progress than the demand side? In other words, why isn't management equally fanatic and disciplined about reducing the cost of customer acquisition as they have been about reducing the cost of goods sold?
If that is indeed the case, then it is time to start a conversation about change on the demand side of the equation. Much like how "Supply Chain" represented a logical grouping of the procurement, manufacturing and logistics functions, the demand chain is also a logical grouping of the functions involved in creating and managing demand. However, achieving and sustaining operational excellence requires discipline and a long-term perspective in order to continually push the performance frontier.
