In a recent article about the death of supply chain management, it was stated that in this world, forecasts are perfect, machines have no operators, and block chain drives it all. Practitioners in the world of supply chain know that it is central to the management of cash and that systems are never the silver bullet as they do not foresee events; they only provide calculations from the data they are fed.
Optimizing the Supply Chain is an essential book to help readers understand the dynamics of how a global business operates. Chapter by chapter, this book provides a comprehensive understanding of the core concepts of people, process, and tools; and how a supply chain should operate in today’s complex world.
Readers will learn about how an ideal business maintains no unnecessary inventory, responds to changes, and delivers products on time or defect free—and how this ability is a competitive advantage for any business that can solve the equation.
Key functional processes are explained in detail for practitioners to learn how to operate effectively in today’s arena. People still have to do all of the work to achieve this.
People
Leadership is defined as the ability of an individual to guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations to a desired outcome.
A leader drives changes in the way people think, work, and act. They create and set the values that shape the culture. Leaders step up in times of crisis and act creatively in tough situations.
Running the Business
Many companies lack the flexibility and agility to maintain liquidity through tough economic times.
The ideal business maintains no unnecessary inventory, responds to changes in the marketplace, and delivers the required products in a timely manner.
The Supply Chain is defined as the management of all functions related to the flow of materials from a company’s suppliers to its customers.
Optimizing supply chain design is about positioning resources in ways that enhance profitability.
The ability to only deliver what is needed, when it is needed, and in the quality needed is a competitive advantage to any business that can solve this equation.
Creating an environment of simplified flows, material availability, and schedule stability helps build a credible process for customers and employees alike.
Risk Management
Business interruptions can take many forms—natural disasters, labor stoppages, health crisis, or social unrest. In an ideal world, incident response is the execution of a well-thought-out, focused, and rehearsed plan that engages all of the team that will manage the future crisis.
Planning
The demand plan is a realistic view of future sales based on all known activities and trends. Its purpose is to focus on the commercial direction of the business as well as to provide a formal request for the supply chain to schedule capacity for anticipated customer requirements. The demand plan is also the financial commitment made by the business for top-line revenue and bottom-line margin.
Tools
Systems do not think or foresee events; they only provide calculations from data they are fed. It can be a matter of garbage in/garbage out if not installed and maintained properly.
Building a productivity machine just takes time, energy, and the agreement with the organization.
By walking our way through the supply chain from supplier to customer, you are able to uncover where value is added and where it is lost.
Mapping how a business operates cost relatively little but yields huge benefits.
Keywords
balance sheet; business strategy; cash flow; cycle Time; inventory; leadership; lean; order fulfillment; organizational effectiveness; planning; P&L; portfolio management; risk; shareholder value; technology; trade; value streams