Beyond the Pressures of Globalization

In this chapter, we have explored just a few of the important new pressures ” globalization, the rise in power of NGOs, and unprecedented shareholder scrutiny ” that a company confronts in a dramatically changing global environment. These are the very real pressures that are forcing companies to rethink the boundaries of their responsibility within the extended supply chain.

But not all pressure for change is coming from external forces. Apart from these formidable external pressures, there are internal structural changes to the modern manufacturing and distribution organization that also compel companies to reassess their supply chain responsibilities and to consider a closer monitoring of suppliers in developing countries . We turn now to these organizational changes; part of a broader supply chain revolution that demands that companies make supplier monitoring and control much more a part of their strategic management policy.