How P&G’s One Supply Chain strategy exemplifies the Perfect Order

In February 2025, Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR) published my 12-part online article series on the Perfect Order. The article series—with accompanying “explainer” articles—was based on a single article written 20 years prior by Dr. Edward J. Marien that presented a (business) customer’s eight rights when ordering goods.

To recap Dr. Marien’s eight customer rights (8Rs) for logistics professionals, a customer deserves:

1. The Right Product
2. In the Right Quantity
3. From the Right Source
4. To the Right Destination
5. In the Right Condition
6. At the Right Time
7. With the Right Documentation
8. At the Right Cost

In the May/June 2025 edition of Supply Chain Management Review magazine, SCMR Editor In Chief Brian Straight (who edited my article series) authored a thought-provoking article titled “How supply chain leadership drives business growth, competitive advantage.” Brian’s article focused on how P&G’s unified supply chain strategies have helped them to grow the company and become brand leaders.

What I found so interesting about Brian’s article is how much of P&G’s supply chain strategy paralleled Dr. Marien’s foundational customer rights. Let me draw out the comments and quotes from Brian’s article and the relationship to Dr. Marien’s 8Rs.

1. The Right Product, The Right Time, and The Right Destination: “As the strategy has evolved, it has remained consistent in its approach to satisfy the customer’s desire and need for the right product when and where it was needed.”
2. The Right Time and The Right Destination: “It is the importance of being on the shelf, online, wherever and whenever people want to shop.” (P&G’s chief product supply officer.)  
3. The Right Quantity: “For beauty and personal care brands, that has meant winning consumers through superior innovation delivered at speed, and ensuring product availability.” 
4. From the Right Source: “Supply chain leaders at P&G align operations with corporate strategy to meet evolving consumer demands, leveraging advanced logistics, strategic supplier partnerships, and real-time demand forecasting.”
5. In the Right Condition: “It also means producing quality products so that customers have a superior experience when they use our brands.” (P&G’s chief product supply officer)

According to Brian’s article, P&G didn’t just launch head-on into their unified One Supply Chain strategy; it was an evolutionary process that began in the 1990s and matured through three distinct iterations. As P&G has proven: execution—from one end of its supply chain to the other—became its competitive edge in a commoditized world. If these words sound familiar, it’s because you’ve read them from me before.

Your company does not need to be as big as P&G to ensure that it is providing each and every customer their rights when they order a product from you, regardless of whether that customer is a business or that customer is a person.  As Brian’s article concludes, you need to view your supply chain as a driver of revenue.  Stop thinking about cutting costs and start thinking about value propositions. Because even if you are not, your competitors probably are.    

My Perfect Order article series can be viewed at: https://www.scmr.com/article/norman-katz-article-series-outlines-the-steps-to-achieving-the-perfect-order

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