Some companies, regardless of their industry or size, do
well. They are successful with low value merchandise or with fashionable
merchandise or whatever product. Other firms struggle or so it seems. The
difference, when you drill down, is often how well a firm executes supply chain
management.
Supply chain excellence does not happen by accident. Firms
with outstanding supply chains have made it a part of their strategy and
operations. They know that it is good business to be a leader in supply chain
management (SCM). These companies understand what supply chain management can
do to position and to differentiate themselves in the market and against
competitors. They know that it can drive sales, profits, and market share.
Supply chain management is a complex responsibility. There
are supply chains within supply chain. Supply chains are not linear from one
customer to one supplier. They involve multiple customers and multiple
suppliers each of whom has a supply chain. Compound that with presence of three
different supply chains -- product, information and financial.
This conundrum applies to companies regardless of size,
regardless of industry, market and regardless of what country the businesses
are located. It is especially difficult for Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
These firms battle against large companies who have leverage and resource
advantages. Less-than-outstanding supply chain management only compounds the
problems for these small-medium companies.
They do not look at their supply chains in their entirety
nor do they view them as processes that flow across the entire firms. Instead,
they look at freight, warehousing and other cost and functional areas. As a
result, their supply chains control them; they do not control their supply
chains. These are significant differences with supply chain and market leaders.
Such firms are also reactive. They imitate, or try to
imitate, what leaders do. Because they do not understand and do not commit to
supply chain management, they are not successful with replicating what others
are successfully doing.
Despite the scope and complexity, supply chain management is
often not vital for many SMEs. The impact to such companies of their treatment
of supply chain management has handicapped its effectiveness and limited growth
and profitability resulting in:
- Wasted capital and resources
- Increased costs to perform activities and transactions
- Lost customer sales and poor customer service
- Sacrificed opportunities to create competitive advantage
Companies are in a survival mode trying to deal with and get
through the global economic slowdown. As firms work through the difficulties,
will change come for those companies have not properly performed supply chain
management? There will be change because many firms will not make it through
the global recession. What other changes will occur?
Will firms try to bully their way through the economy with
broad brush approaches with arbitrary inventory reductions and costs
reductions? How many firms will validate Einstein's definition of insanity by
doing the same things over and over and expecting different results? Will there
be change from the revived economies or will companies repeat the mistakes of
the past with regards to supply chain management? How will firms deal with the
permanent changes that come from the global recession?
Will they choose to have lower costs; better customer
service; faster capital velocity, for inventory and, in turn, cash; and
increased competitiveness, even advantage? Growth, even survival, may depend on
the answer.
The answer should be to change. Not changing is to repeat
the mistakes of the past and can be considered as lunacy-doing the same thing
over and over and expecting different results. Many company business models are
outdated; more will join that with the global economy that emerges from the
global recession. SMEs should:
- Work together to combine volumes of multiple SMEs and to leverage procurement of similar commodities using technology and approach as major corporations utilize
- Manage supply chains and suppliers as large companies do using technology and process to drive efficiencies across the supply chain from suppliers through to customers.
- Determine and differentiate what the company needs from its supply chain with regards to competitive advantage, market positioning, cycle time, capital required for inventory and other applications, service, revenue, profitability and growth.
- Segment and assess present supply chain performance and process as to customers, markets, industries, distribution channels and products. Analyze the process based on customer and market requirements and on competition. Depending on the assessment results, supply chain redesign from the customer and market perspectives is preferable to trying to fix the present operation. Utilize different tactics for higher risk, higher complexity, high volume, fast moving, profitable products, customer and markets than for ones that are marginal.
SMEs must break the cycle of inefficiency that limits
profits, growth and return. Change is difficult, but not impossible.
Opportunities will come from the new economy. They must change. Standing pat is
not a viable option. The changes from the global economy will create
opportunities for those prepared to take advantage of them.
Companies that view themselves as dynamic and as global see
the prospects for themselves. They have value propositions that separate them
from competitors; they know that value propositions are about the customers-and
not about what the firms do. They understand trends; they lead. These firms
understand what supply chain management can do to not only create service
advantage but to be a catalyst for new business.
Leaders know that orders--whether they are replenishment,
customer, or new products-- must be delivered complete, accurate and on-time.
This must be done consistently.
Uncertainty is a sign of a struggling supply
chain. Conversely, reliability is a hallmark of best-in-class supply chains.
The privileged supply chain practitioner use best practices to effectively
manage their supply chains. Best practices reduce time and inventory and
improve competitive positioning and profitability.
Supply Chain Best Practices are--
- Increase inventory velocity
- Implement lean logistics / supply chain management
- Improve supplier performance
- Compress cycle time
- Utilize meaningful metrics
- Segment the supply chain
- Employ supply chain technology
Products sold into a competitive market, fast moving
products, products with short product life cycles, products with
seasonality--all must utilize best supply chain practices. It is not a choice;
it is a requirement.
Time and inventory are two important, interrelated issues
that drive the need for best practices. Success with these practices also
creates inventory yield maximization opportunities. There is a window of
opportunity to get the maximum price and the maximum yield for products. Hit
that window, and companies enjoy higher pricing and profit margins. Leaders
understand this in using best practices.
Increase
inventory velocity. Inventory
management is the Gordian Knot of supply chain management. No one knows how to
untie it, and it cannot be cut. The inventory quandary applies to all
inventories-finished goods, raw materials, parts and components, MRO and
work-in-process. It includes new products and existing products. It covers all
types of businesses-manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and
others in about every industry.
There is a dichotomy of views. Sales
wants 100% customer satisfaction and to make sure that there is always
inventory on hand to meet each order. Finance wants to carry fewer inventories
to free up capital for other needs. Given the vagaries of sales patterns,
supplier lead times, and production sizes, the "answer" is dynamic.
When sales are booming, inventory may not be as scrutinized as it is when sales
are slow and inventory is sitting in warehouses and plants.
As a result, inventory creep can occur.
Studies have shown that manufacturers and wholesalers have over 60 days of
inventory and that retailers have over 90 days of inventory capital tied up.
These times do not include the entire inbound inventory in the supply chain.
Real supply chain inventory is likely 25% higher. This is a very significant
amount of capital tied up in inventory.
Too many companies do not know how fast
inventory turns and do not really manage it well. Poor turns are signs of many
problems. Inventory must move quickly; turns should be high.
Inventory that
sits and does not sell consumes available working capital and limits applying
that capital to the business. Products must flow from suppliers or
manufacturing sites to customers. Being inventory rich and cash poor is not a
sound approach.
Inventory is key to profitability.
Inventory velocity turns assets into profits. The faster inventory moves and
turns, the greater the profitability. Inventory is the key issue to supply
chain management success. Customers demand that their orders be shipped
complete, accurate and on-time. That means having the right inventory at the
right place at the right time.
Implement
lean logistics / supply chain management. Lean complements supply chain management. Both emphasize
pulling, not pushing, products through the supply chain. Both recognize the
waste, or non-value, created by excess inventory and excess time.
A lean supply chain process is
streamlined to reduce and eliminate waste or non-value added activities to the
total supply chain flow and to the products moving within the supply chain.
Waste can be measured in time, inventory and unnecessary costs. Value added
activities are those that contribute to efficiently placing the final product
at the customer or at the store. The supply chain and the inventory contained
in the chain should flow. Any activity that stops the flow should create value.
Any activity that touches inventory should create value.
The
best know that lean supply chain management is more than warehouses and
transport topics. It must include the total supply chain, both domestic and,
especially, international. They stay focused on adding value as defined by
customer, using the pull which complements SCM, keeping a customer focus, and
removing the waste of inventory and time.
Improve
supplier performance. Success
begins with supplier performance. They must deliver quality items and do it
complete, accurate and on time. Otherwise problems ripple across the supply
chain, the company and its customers and impact sales, profits and capital tied
up in inventories. Whether the products are finished goods or materials for
factories, the need for strong supplier performance is there.
Leaders analyze spend and identify
suppliers as to importance based on risk, volume, profit margin, lead-time,
criticality, stringent specifications or other criteria important to their
businesses and industries.
They differentiate how to work with critical suppliers from
non-critical ones. This includes understanding what suppliers want and
implementing supplier relationship management.
Compress cycle time. Supply chain
cycle time runs from the time the need for a product--new or replenished--is
determined and goes until it is delivered to the customer or to the store. The length
of global supply chains adds to time and the challenge to compress. Safety
stock inventories are a buffer against uncertainty. Long cycle times add to the
uncertainty-and in turn the amount of inventories carried and working capital
tied up.
Leaders recognize that there are many parties
involved in the cycle time for both product and information flows. These
parties, that are touching the product and information, are both internal and
external. All the parties collectively add to the length of cycle time and to
its variability. And this, in turn, adds to cost, inventory levels, service
failures and lost sales. The best analyze the flows and look at where products
and information stop and whether value is added with each stoppage. They
understand that much delay is caused internally because of organizational
requirements, gaps with the supply chain process, signoffs/approvals, purchase
order requirements and changes,
and numerous other reasons. Drawing on lean, they improve
the flow. In turn, the same is done with the external activities. With all the
actions and parties, compression focus is placed on fast moving, high margin
products.
Utilize meaningful metrics. It
is easy to identify firms that do not excel at supply chain management. In good
times or bad times, they cannot tell you how well their supply chain operates
beyond some anecdotal stories.
There are numerous measures for companies and their supply
chains. Some are micro-measures of various logistics activities and functions.
Some have nominal value. And others are based o knee-jerk reactions to a
problem that occurred.
Useful metrics go across the enterprise. They tie to the
company strategy and show meaningful performance. Examples of good metrics
are--
- Orders delivered complete, accurate and on time
- Time related--such as:
- days of inventory on hand
- supply chain cycle time
- time (speed/length of time)-and how well (dependability or variability)-the organization and the supply chain perform is significant to satisfying customer expectations
- purchase order to cash cycle time goes across the firm and includes supply chain time
·
Segment
the supply chain. Too
many firms have one supply chain approach for everything. This monolithic
methodology handicaps performance, diverts resources, and creates static noise
from external and internal sources that distract the supply chain organization.
The best segment their supply chain and focus performance where it is most
beneficial. Instead of practicing one-size-fits-all supply chain management,
they tier based on profit margin or days of inventory or similar important
criteria. Multiple segmenting can be done. Customers can be tiered, as can
products.
The
analysis identifies sectors that the company and supply chain should emphasize.
It is actionable. The profit analysis to find large, profitable segments can be
done by category, market, product, domestic/global region or other key targets
for the business. Note, sectors do not reflect company structure as to
divisions or business units. From that start, deeper drilling can be done into
subsectors. Segmentation needs accounting recognition of the key customers and
sectors so that proper tracking of the financial benefit is done.
Sectoring supply chains is a superior
best practice. It works for all companies-regardless of size, industry or
whether B2B or B2C. The benefits go beyond supply chain performance and very
positively impact the firm in important ways. It has both master plan and
operations importance and impact. Supply chain segmenting can be used by all
companies, regardless of size, industry, market or type.
Employ
supply chain technology.
Supply chain execution technology is important to managing a supply chain. It
should provide visibility throughout the entire supply chain. It is much more
than tracking and tracing which misses the important factor. It is not about
the container or pallet of product. It is about the purchase order or customer
order.
The key issue is to manage the customer,
purchase or build order through to delivery. Technology, especially when tied
with an excellent supply chain process and collaboration, can provide that.
SaaS and cloud combine to let all size firms use technology. It is no longer
reserved for the large corporations. Leaders use technology for exception
management and for event management so they can focus on what is important,
reduce the occurrence of problems and manage the supply chain flow.
Best-in-class firms want visibility
across entire supply chain process. They distinguish the inbound supply chain
from the outbound supply chain in designing and implementing the strategy. They
do not focus on domestic versus international to parse their supply chain; they
assess inbound versus outbound. Otherwise, the time and resultant inventory
benefits are blurred. Also, they develop multiple transport and stocking
programs to reflect the management of inventory. Firms that have supply chain
management as part of the core competency and strategic focus perform better in
controlling inventory across the supply chain.
Conclusion.
SMEs have the supply
chains that they designed, either deliberately or through indifference, and
deserve. Strong economic periods can mask the performance of supply chains.
Weak conditions expose the true supply chain capabilities. As a result, they
can compete effectively, or they cannot. Some firms realize their weaknesses
and redesign supply chains. They choose to change, to take control of their
supply chains and to grow and be profitable. Too many firms choose not to
improve their supply chains. "Nothing comes from nothing" as
Shakespeare said in King Lear. They limit what their companies can become. Good
SMEs will change and will collaborate with other SMEs to gain leverage. They
will use best practices because they want to position themselves for growth and
success.
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