Deere & Company (brand name John Deere) is famed for the manufacture and supply of machinery used in agriculture, construction, and forestry, as well as diesel engines and lawn care equipment. In 2014, Deere & Company was listed 80th in the Fortune 500 Americas ranking and was 307th in the 2013 Fortune Global 500 ranking. Supply Chain Cost Reduction Challenges: Deere and Company has a diverse product range, which includes a mix of heavy machinery for the consumer market, and industrial equipment, which is made to order. Retail activity is extremely seasonal, with the majority of sales occurring between March and July. The company was replenishing dealers inventory weekly, using direct shipment and cross-docking operations from source warehouses located near Deere & Companys manufacturing facilities. This operation was proving too costly and too slow, so the company launched an initiative to achieve a 10% supply chain cost reduction within four years. The Path to Cost Reduction: The company undertook a supply chain networkredesign program, resulting in the commissioning of intermediate merge centers and optimization of cross-dock terminal locations. Deere & Company also began consolidating shipments and using break-bulk terminals during the seasonal peak. The company also increased its use of thirdparty logistics providers and eectively created a network that could be optimized tactically at any given point in time. Supply Chain Cost Management Results: Deere & Companys supply chain costmanagement achievements included an inventory decrease of $1 billion, a signicant reduction in customer delivery lead times (from ten days to ve or less) and annual transportation cost savings of around 5%. How does it relate to Purchasing, Procurement or Strategic Sourcing?

What are your recommendations on solving the problem? Mention a minimum of three recommendations. Think outside of the box and critically.

Select one of your recommendations and provide a detailed implementation plan.