"If you think supply-chain management is a boring topic, listen to one of Hau Lee's talks. Within minutes, the professor of engineering and management science at Silicon Valley's Stanford University has the audience roaring with laughter. When it comes to anecdotes illustrating the pitfalls of today's supply chains, he has the delivery of a stand-up comedian.
"One story he tells is about Volvo. In the mid-1990s, the Swedish car manufacturer found itself with excessive stocks of green cars. To move them along, the sales and marketing departments began offering attractive special deals, so green cars started to sell.
"But nobody had told the manufacturing department about the promotions. It noted the increase in sales, read it as a sign that consumers had started to like green, and ramped up production."
Sources
Economist, Jan 31st 2002
