Supply Chain Management Review

Sean Murphy

Cadbury's Lesson on the Differences in Supply Chains
January 14, 2008

UK-based Cadbury-Schwepps, the maker of soft drinks, candy, and other products, has an interesting page on its Web site here that's worth a look. Here, they break one of their products, Cadbury Dairy Fruit & Nut, down into component parts and explain where each ingredient comes from. Some are local, while others come from as far away as California and Ghana. 

The page draws attention to the manufacturing side of the supply chain, an angle of supply chain management that is often overlooked. Neophytes to supply chain management think only of the product delivery and returns part of the supply chain. 

To be fair, these parts of the supply chain are vital, but making the product is just as important as getting it to the store shelf, and Cadbury's page points out that one manufacturing supply chain may actually be split into many, especially if the company is sourcing multiple ingredients, all from different countries. Not exactly an easy feat to pull off, and certainly one that deserves as much attention as the delivery side seems to get by default.

Posted by Sean Murphy on January 14, 2008 | Comments (0)