Managing your supply chain
By Rick Bushnell -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/1999
There's a lot to consider in supply chain management, integration of supply chains, and ERP. In this column, I'll explain how concepts, organizational structures, and technologies act together to provide the benefits necessary for corporate survival.Many materials handling professionals are looked to for support and leadership in helping companies move to the level of facility integration, and then to supply chain integration, necessary to survive. This means that we must first understand the driving concept and then know how to implement it by altering processes and using technology.
Actually, adopting new concepts isn't new. But the fact that functions involving the sales and accounting parts of our business are now so closely linked with production and product flow, and that all are so interdependent and rely on technology-that's new. The recognition of all these relationships is refreshing. It's the ERP vision, I might add.
But I see two problems: The first is about technology and our dependence on it. There's computer technology and materials handling technology. They must work more closely than before. But many who like the supply chain concept don't understand how difficult it is to alter processes and implement the technology. On the other hand, those who like the technology may implement it in such a way that it doesn't come together to support and benefit the supply chain.
The concept is to create entire supply chains-from supplier's supplier to customer's customer-where products and information flow seamlessly throughout the chain. This tears down the mental and organizational lines of demarcation that put people either on the receiving side or on the shipping side of a company.
There's a problem which makes implementation complex: We must deploy concepts and technology and integrate them within different companies.
Is there no hope? Well, there isn't if we don't recognize the complex issues involved. Here's what it will take: Concept-centric people must allow for technology and process modifications. Technocentric people must add organizational structure and practicality to their motivations. And all must have an enterprise vision which realizes his or her relationship to production, sales, and accounting.
Why take time to draw these distinctions? It's really about the difficulty of change. To make change happen you need to overcome resistance. There will be resistance related to technology and some related to the concept that it supports. There is nothing worse than trying to train for a technology when employees really don't understand or fear the concept that it supports. And there is nothing worse than managers pursuing a concept when they don't understand the importance of, or the difficulties related to, the technology on which the concept depends.
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