The demand for higher product quality has resulted in an increasingly complex value chain.
Increasing customer sophistication and the constant demand for improved product quality are changing the rules for sustaining and growing profitability for manufacturers. Global competition, fierce price wars and eroding brand loyalty are exerting pressure on virtually every business function and process in the manufacturing industry. Manufacturers are forced to consolidate their supply base and outsource to low-cost manufacturing regions to compete. The result is an increasingly complex value chain.