Definition of Supply Chain

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Does it mean that the suppliers shall maintain a high inventory of parts?
No. The suppliers need not maintain a high inventory of parts to service the needs of Dell because there are several measures they can take to ensure a constant supply.
If the suppliers shall maintain a high inventory of parts, do the suppliers incur high holding costs?
Yes. If the suppliers maintain a high inventory of parts, they will incur high holding costs by virtue of storage charges such as warehousing in more places, security, etc. (Boström & Lundell, 2020; Youngerman, (2020).
If the suppliers incur high holding costs, who will eventually pay for those costs? Dell? Or its suppliers? Or ultimately the customer?
The high holding costs will eventually reach the customers because the suppliers will pass them on to Dell, who will in-turn include them in their product costs (Poormoaied, 2021; Ding & Schmidt, 2020; Ovezmyradov & Kurata, 2019).
If you were Dell, discuss how you would ensure that the holding costs are actually reduced, not just transferred?
There are two major measures that suppliers can apply to reduce holding costs (Franco & Rubha, 2017). First, they can locate their factories near Dell's assembly plant to minimize delivery time and exploit the just-in-time production approach. In this way, they can manufacture and deliver products on short notice without maintaining high inventory. Second, they can maintain Dell's daily and even hourly production schedules, sales projec...