Zulu | Supply Chain Management | Consistent Delivery

ZULU Supply Chain Management

Managing suppliers is an essential element to any company’s performance. Making sure that all your critical supply partners are actively managed will ensure that your own company’s performance is always optimised.

The marketing supply chain

The marketing supply chain may involve a variety of companies from individual consultants through to agencies, production companies (such as printers and fulfillment houses), each with a different role and set of responsibilities. Understanding the different functions can be a bewildering task and if not correctly managed can carry significant risk for the marketing strategy of the company.

Often, suppliers will work together to produce marketing material. Agencies for example, design material, then pass on the artwork to a print company for production and then a fulfillment house will mail or deliver the finished product. Each company will have different processes, procedures and quality standards for their part of the chain but it is important that the supply chain is dovetailed together to make sure the process of creation and production is seamless and robust.

Managing Reputation and Intellectual Property

During the production of marketing collateral, key assets of your company are put into the hands of your suppliers. Whether you’re looking at having your logo reproduced or you’re developing material which uses imagery or branding, you will need to be clear and concise when it comes to managing the process so that your key assets are protected.

Zulu has extensive experience, working across and through the supply chain ensuring brands are protected and managed correctly throughout the production process.

Preventing brand fragmentation

As work is produced across the supply chain, each supplier has a different interpretation of how your brand should be articulated across channels. Overtime, this difference in interpretation will lead to a diverse and incoherent brand, which will erode the image and customer perception of your company.

Zulu provides a central point of control and active management in order to bring consistency across your supply roster.

Supply chain strategy

Zulu works with its clients to help define and set supply chain strategy. A company’s supply chain should reflect the corporate vision, defining and investing in key partners that can provide strategic uplift to the companies capability.

This may be aligned with long-term brand articulation and implementation, whilst other capability within the supply chain may need a more flexible relationship. Zulu helps companies understand the relative significance of the individual contributors within the supply chain and makes sure the correct processes and procedures are in place to ensure the supply chain is appropriately aligned against the corporate needs.

Active Supply Chain Management

Zulu provides systems, procedures and reviews in order to make sure that every element of your supply chain is correctly aligned with the overall strategy. This will result in a fully protected brand as an end product.

Managing costs throughout your supply chain

Your supply chain should be optimised through regular ‘value’ reviews, to ensure that the company is achieving value for money through its procurement strategy. This is not simply a cost cutting exercise but rather a ‘value add process’, looking at where spend is diluted by too much duplication of capability or by few capable suppliers who narrow the procurement options.

By combining the supply chain strategy and implementation of an active management process, the company will achieve optimal operation support from its supply chain. In our experience, this can also provide up to a 20% cost reduction with a significant uplift in operational support.