Impact of Information Systems on Quick
Response Programs
Robert Setaputra, Xiaohang Yue, and Dongqing Yao
Abstract A quick response (QR) program is a proven system to deal with the ever
changing customer’s demand and requirements. Effective information system is one
of the backbones to have a successful QR program. This paper discusses how each of
the recent technological developments in information technology (IT) has impacted
QR program. This paper also discusses the steps that companies need to take in
order to take complete advantage of these IT developments, as well as the directions
of where IT and QR are heading.
Keywords Information systems
response
Information technology developments Quick
1 Introduction
Rapid technological developments, shorter product life cycles, and increased customer expectations have reshaped how business operates. To survive, it is essential
for the firms nowadays to be able to meet the ever changing business situations.
Companies need to collaborate with the lower and upper echelons in the supply
chain to be able to compete since they have exhausted most of the opportunities to
improve internally. With the ever more fragmented customers, companies also need
to be able to react quickly to customer’s demand and changes. Supply chains simply
must be more efficient and effective so that goods, funds, and information can travel
fast. Handfield and Nichols (1998) estimated that the costs of the flow of materials
through the supply chain are approximately 75% of the total cost.
Companies have for long been relying on quick response (QR) program to deal
with various customer’s demand and changes. Inefficiencies in the supply chain
R. Setaputra (B)
John L. Grove College of Business, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg PA, USA
e-mail: rsseta@ship.edu
T.C. Edwin Cheng and T.-M. Choi (eds.), Innovative Quick Response Programs
in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, International Handbooks on Information...