Case Study on Caterpillar Corporation: An American MNC in the Business of Heavy Machinery (such as Road and Tunnel Construction)The former chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Corporation, Donald Fites credits Caterpillar dealers with much of his company’s success. Fites points out that dealersare much closer to customers than to the company, and can respond more rapidly to customer needs. They arrange financing when the product is purchased and carefully monitor, repair and service the product. Fites says that “the deer creates the image of a company that doesn’t just stand behind it’s products but with it’s products anywhere in the world”.Caterpillar believes that it’s dealer network gives the company a tremendous advantage over it’s competitors especially the big Japanese construction and mining equipment manufacturers such as Komatsu and Hitachi. Question: Taking the above caselet as an Example, explain briefly the Distributor Integration concept. What other types of business partnerships are available to an organization to improve supply chain performance? Illustrate your answer with suitable Examples.

Practical Management Science
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ISBN:9781337406659
Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.
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Case Study on Caterpillar Corporation: An American MNC in the Business of Heavy Machinery (such as Road and Tunnel Construction)The former chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Corporation, Donald Fites credits Caterpillar dealers with much of his company’s success. Fites points out that dealersare much closer to customers than to the company, and can respond more rapidly to customer needs. They arrange financing when the product is purchased and carefully monitor, repair and service the product. Fites says that “the deer creates the image of a company that doesn’t just stand behind it’s products but with it’s products anywhere in the world”.Caterpillar believes that it’s dealer network gives the company a tremendous advantage over it’s competitors especially the big Japanese construction and mining equipment manufacturers such as Komatsu and Hitachi.

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Taking the above caselet as an Example, explain briefly the Distributor Integration concept.

What other types of business partnerships are available to an organization to improve supply chain performance? Illustrate your answer with suitable Examples. 

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