THE SUPP CHAIN SQUEEZE

摘要

My wife is the principal of a small private elementary school. When enrollment is low, the children enjoy a favorable student-to-teacher ratio, but the school's tuition revenue does not cover all of the teacher's salaries. When enrollment is high, tuition covers all salary expense, but the student-to-teacher ratio is less favorable for the children. The principal is always in the middle, caught in the squeeze between her parents as customers and her teachers as suppliers. Manufacturing and distribution organizations often find themselves in a similar squeeze, caught in the middle between customer and supplier commitments. Lately, the situation in many industries has become exacerbated by the economy. The situation is more severe because of the business cycle, and the easy answers no longer work very well.