Reference no: EM133106155

Walgreens has served its pharmacy customers for over 100 years in its 13,000 worldwide retail stores at "the corner of happy and healthy." The company is facing major changes in its core business model due to technology innovations and changing customer shopping preferences. Many transactions that once took place in a retail outlet now occur online. The focus has shifted to putting the customer at the heart of everything. Data and analytics are used to forecast demand for a wide range of products and then supply chain professionals work backward to determine how to obtain the goods that customers will want. The transition to a customer-driven supply chain approach requires Walgreens to become more analytical and agile. This is placing greater pressure on the HR function to recruit and retain the necessary talent. Distribution center managers today need not only strong operational skills but also the capability of working collaboratively across functions. Prior to the digital revolution, distribution centers ran two shifts Monday through Friday to support store demand. In today's environment, those centers are now operating 24/7 with line employees working in a lean team-based environment that is focused on continuous improvement. General managers and team leaders now work variable shifts so that they can connect with all team members from time to time. Working off-shifts and unpredictable schedules creates recruiting difficulties for the company. Further, experts in supply chain favored living in urban centers rather than remote locations outside of the city. One of the ways that Walgreens HR staff addressed these staffing issues was to identify colleges whose graduates tended to take jobs in operations rather than corporate supply chain functions. They increased their presence on campus to ensure that students would identify appropriate supply chain operations jobs at Walgreens. Another key element to their staffing plan involved an internship program. Recruiters targeted colleges and universities located near each of the company's nine distribution centers. They paid visits to each campus, connected with instructors in the supply chain programs, and promoted internship opportunities that would provide meaningful, relevant work to students. In its first year, the company hired 27 interns who were assigned a continuous improvement project. Another emphasis in Walgreens talent management efforts is to identify individuals with analytical and planning skills to ensure that in-demand products are always in stock and available to customers. Supply chain professionals use sophistical software solutions and synthesize information from a variety of sources to make important inventory decisions. This segment of the company is looking for connections to universities that specialize in supply chain analytics. Current employees who graduated from those schools play an integral role in career fairs and linking up with student clubs and organizations in the field of supply chain. Finally, Walgreens is working to enhance its reputation in the professional community. An evening event held at the Chicago-based Walgreens University showcased the company's supply chain programs to individuals already working in supply chain. Curriculum at the corporate university includes many courses on tactical, strategic, and leadership skills needed in the new world of supply chain demands. All of the elements of Walgreen's talent management approach are aimed at finding and growing the talent needed to become a best-in-class supply chain organization.

June is a manager at Clarsee Inc., a toy manufacturing company. As supply chain management expert, she is required to ensure that in-demand products are always in stock in the company's inventory. To meet this requirement, June tries to stay a step ahead by predicting buyer needs and determining how to obtain the goods buyers are likely to want in the near future. Which of the following supply chain approaches does June's company most likely follow?

a. Management by exception

b. Management by objectives

c. The customer-driven supply chain approach

d. The build-to-order supply chain approach