The equivalent in a service industry is to match the fronted staffing levels to the promotion. Are there enough people in the call centre to manage the demand from direct advertising; can we scale the service up or down to meet the demand; and are our partners in the chain geared up for the relative demand level? The process which can be linked by technology . Estimates for savings in the grocery business in the US are $30 billion and /25 billion in Europe in the 1990s. Savings were also made in other manufacturing industries, such as cars and pharmaceuticals.
THE DEMAND FOR DIRECT ADVERTISING
The idea of intranet links down the chain implies trust and transparency between players. The focus is inevitably on minimising stock or staff levels, but with good enough support to guarantee fast turn-around when required. The intranet transfers behaviour into action, as the entire chain reacts to live purchase data, maximising the efficiency of the planning cycle in the process. In the service scenario, viewing progress down the chain enabled FedEx to allow customers to track where their parcels were as they travelled around the world to their door. In the travel industry it allows high street travel shops to book airline tickets and holidays for consumers in real time. However, in terms of customer service, the marketer's touch is not always present. Why, for instance, is luggage at airports not scanned by barcode? Why do you have to fill in a form when they lose your luggage? Shouldn't they know what it is and where it is?