1.1.

Relationship between Operation System Responsiveness & Competitive

Advantage
Operational system responsiveness can be defined as how good a business process and
system can respond to the changing demands of market and customers. This can help in risk
reduction, achieving greater efficiencies and capitalize on opportunities. Whenever a business is
operationally responsive, it has enough information and is also flexible so that changes can be
incorporated easily. Business information that is needed to bring and assess the change is the
vital part of operationally responsive business plans. Responding to customer interactions is not
only accepting their orders or solving their problems. Businesses that are operationally
responsive are working on exploring new opportunities from existing and potential customers.
This helps in identification of needs and demands of the customers (Pam, 2010)

Firms are achieving variability and are becoming more responsive using practices of
SCM (Narasimhan, 1999). When the SCM practices is successful, there is more quick response
to the changes in the market, more sensitive to product change or for market. Thus, those
organization who want to have cost leadership, quick response to the external stimulus, they are
all focusing on the practices of SCM (Porter, 1985). Collaboration is a vital element in gaining
responsive attitude from the team. Collaborative efforts if made by the partners of supply chain
may tend to increase the responsive attitude of the people to any slight change in the demand of
product. Regardless of the type of SCM practices, if information is properly handled and
processed then it would be a great benefit to the organization in seeking responsiveness. Market
is full of options for the customer, they have an easy access to the items, and they can switch
easily without having a switching cost even if they are not responded timely. There should be a
close coordination of suppliers and customers as the demands of customer vary quickly and
timely response is required to save the repo of the organization (Mentzer, 2001).