Selected article

Beyond Vendor Managed Inventory: The GlaxoSmithKline Case Issue number 9 Vol.5 n°2 - 2004 Vol.5 n°2 - 2004 FREE article : download now Abstract: In 1995, GlaxoSmithKline launched a project, which aimed at changing the way in which planning and replenishment processes were managed within the GSKs global supply network. The purpose was to implement Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) both upstream and downstream in the supply network to co-ordinate the material and information flows among a number of different suppliers, manufacturing and distribution plants. VMI is one of the most widely discussed partnering initiatives for improving supply network performances. Most authors and practitioners consider it as an approach for managing materials and information flows between one or more customers and their suppliers, leading to several benefits. Nevertheless, the traditionally considered VMI can also lead to wasting significant opportunities according to a perspective of optimisation of the whole supply network as it simply involves supplier-customer dyads. The present case study highlights how VMI can be used to manage the whole supply network as a single entity, and provides insights on this form of VMI into: (1) information flows, supporting the relationships between supply network members; (2) information systems, supporting data collection, management, diffusion and elaboration; (3) the performance monitoring system, highlighting the benefits for each supply network member as well as avoiding opportunistic behaviours. Authors: Pamela Danese University of Padova Keywords: Vendor Managed Inventory Pharmaceutical industry Information flows Information systems Performance monitoring systems.