Winning with speed
By Rick Bushnell -- Modern Materials Handling, 3/1/1999
Recently, I attended the IBM Global Supply Chain Executive Conference. Keynote speaker Tom Peters (author of In Search of Excellence and other books) wasn't very dynamic. That is, if you think that dynamite isn't explosive!This column won't deal with what Peters said, but rather what he made me (and some 1,700 others) think about. What do we, as business people, need to do in order to survive?
Although Peters covered a lot of ground, I want to focus on something that is a bedrock issue: the need to take time out of transactions all along the supply chain.
Although we measure success in dollars, being able to succeed at the compression of time really is a key component enabling one to win out over competitors.
An underlying theme to Peter's keynote speech was that in order to win, you must understand what you are doing, have guts, and use computer technology to make something happen faster than ever before.
The Internet is fast. Materials move swiftly in a distribution facility controlled by a warehouse management system. AS/RS supported manufacturing is fast. Decisions can be made quickly by managers based on information from a truly integrated computer system or an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, faster than those by a competitor not so equipped.
Speed was a decisive factor in the Gulf War. We moved millions of tons of material-and more than 525,000 troops-thousands of miles quickly. There also was the "end run" to get trucks, tanks, cannons, and soldiers where they could beat Saddam Hussein in a short time.
Although Peters referred to a different war, the one for the survival of your company, the message was similar: Understand, have the courage to change, compete, and win with speed. Why does Intel keep making faster computers? It isn't just to make GameBoy more lifelike!
So here are some questions to ponder. Given that a successful strategy involves a blend of concept and technology, what marks a winner? Is it a WMS? Maybe. Is it sending electronic data interchange (EDI) and advanced shipping notices () over the Internet? Maybe. Is it bar coding? Maybe. Is it eliminating errors? Maybe. Is it reducing inventories? Maybe. Is it establishing relationships for electronically taking and placing orders, making or receiving payments? Maybe.
The truth is that each of these questions involves good ideas. But they need to be put in the context of your environment and your corporate need for speed.
If you are not working on a project that makes things happen faster, it's not likely to be a winner. Go to your boss and ask for a different project. If he or she doesn't know why you are asking, according to Tom Peters, "Ask for a different boss!" And find a winning project.
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