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Rating:  4.3 / 5  (792 ratings)

...The Europe and Asia-Pacific DCs had two issues to grapple with: long lead times and a requirement for extremely high service levels. Each printer designed for a local market overseas had to be completed at the factory in the USA and then took a month to arrive. If demand exceeded supply at the DC, there were costly delays in getting the proper localized versions of the printer to the right place. In the meantime there was often a surplus of printers designed for other countries in the very same DC. Furthermore, torrid growth in the inkjet printer market meant that factors like price and availability were becoming most important to consumers as quality and reliability distinctions between manufacturers narrowed.

HP had to find a way to reduce costs (to keep prices down relative to competitors) and still maintain a wide variety of localized products to meet availability requirements...