Creating supply chain visibility : a case study on extending Intel's Unit Level Traceability to customers

Abstract

In an effort to enable supply chain visibility for Intel products, the Customer Unit Level Traceability (ULT) Program was formed to help extend Intel's ULT capability to the customer level. Increased traceability of Intel products could potentially lead customers to realize some of the same benefits, such as improved issue management and security, as other industries already do. Interviewing customers regarding their perspectives on ULT and interest in pilot collaboration engagements with Intel allowed the program to realize that customer adoption would prove to be challenging. By characterizing the program with Everett M. Roger's Innovation Adoption Curve and Geoffrey A. Moore's Chasm, it was also discovered that the pragmatic early majority could not be expected to act as visionary innovators or early adopters and help the program reach a critical mass of customers with its existing strategy. However, the program may evolve to do so or at least reach its target customers by modifying the implementation plan. Rather than extending the ULT capability to customers as a risk mitigation strategy, Intel can effectively prepare a response for when inflection points occur and motivate customer ULT adoption. The timing of the adoption is largely sensitive to when customers are ready to bring on this sort of change and understanding what factors will cause this need. Ultimately, this project lends itself to the longer term, ideal state of having end-to-end traceability of Intel products along the supply chain whereby additional improvements in areas of quality and manufacturing can be discovered.