We know that push strategy in the supply chain refers to the amount of work done "in anticipation of demand," also known as "speculative strategy." Simultaneously, the pull supply chain strategy is considered "customers' order-driven strategy," also known as "reactive strategy." There is always a push and pull boundary that separates the push from the pull. As a supply chain specialist, please give five (05) different and unique examples from industry or real life to demonstrate the "push and pull boundary."

Push-pull boundary helps in managing the demand and supply of the product effectively. Five examples can be considered where the boundary is demonstrated. Firstly, the paint industry, where the paint color is mixed and supplied based on customer demand, the textile industry where fabric is manufactured and supplied based on customer demand. A PC manufacturer can also be considered where inventory is managed on the forecast but the final assembly is based on customer demand. In the book industry, Amazon.com changed their philosophy based on high customer demand and utilized the push-pull strategy by keeping warehouses for their stock. Finally, the furniture industry also utilizes this boundary as the product is produced with a pull strategy whereas the flow of distribution changes to a push strategy as it saves shipment costs.

Step-by-step explanation

Generally, supply chains contain both the push and pull systems. The medium between the stages of the push and pull-based systems are considered as the push-pull boundary. This boundary helps in matching the supply and demand effectively. Here are some examples that demonstrate the boundary:

1. The paint industry can be referred to as one of the best examples of the push-pull boundary. Instead of mixing the colors at their large plants. Paint companies are providing facilities to the retailers to mix the color as per the demand of the customer instead of mixing it themselves. Hence, the retailer pushes out the paint color based on the pulling of the customer demand regarding the availability of the paint color. It becomes a win-win for both retailers as they save inventory costs and customers who are happy to get their required paint color.

2. In the South Asian textile industry, the fabric manufacturer outsources its yarn based on the forecast and tends to weave based on the requisite customer demand.  This is an example of the interface of the push-pull boundary where the initial stage of the supply chain focuses on push whereas the final stage operates on a pull system. The initial part of the supply chain which started before the weaving is 'push' whereas the pull is where the weaving is started based on the customer demand.

3. When a PC manufacturer is considered, they build stock and make all their decisions regarding production and distribution based on their forecast. This is their pull system where their component inventory is managed based on the forecast but the final assembly of their PC is based on the response to the customer's request. This is their pull part where the supply chain starts with the assembly based on the actual demand of the customer. This helps them to match their supply according to the demand effectively.

4. The book industry can be considered as another example where the flow of goods changes in push-pull. Amazon.com supplied books based on a pull system with no warehouses or stock but as the customer demand increased and reached its peak. They changed their philosophy and made warehouses around the country where they can keep stock. The inventory of the stock was based on the push strategy of long-term forecast but the demand of the customer was the pull strategy based on the individual request they got as customer demand. They created an evolution in their supply chain strategy from just push to push-pull.

5. Another instance of this flow in the supply chain is the furniture industry where the push and pull strategy is utilized. The companies utilize pull strategy when it comes to their production units as it is tough to make production decisions on long-term predictions whereas their distribution enjoys economies of scale based on its push-based strategy because it helps in reducing shipment costs.