In a recent study, Accenture reported that top management has identified the root of all evil in supply chains. In essence, the report says that the enemy is people who lack the skills to improve supply chain mechanics. Furthermore, more than half of the CEOs said it was true at their company and at their trading partners.

Soon after that appeared, the CNN/Money Web site did a piece on supply chain software. It quotes Gartner's principal analyst in this space, Jeff Woods, as saying "supply chain applications are in a trough of disillusionment. CEOs signed off on supply-chain packages a couple years ago and now are beating their heads against the wall, wondering what they bought."

Wait just a minute here. It seems we have two answers to the same problem. On the one hand, CEOs are saying people lack skills and so does the software.

Both could actually be happening at the same time. People may, in fact, be somewhat ill prepared for the challenges. And the same could be true of some software that's out there. While both are possible, it was where the CNN/Money story went next that really disturbed me.

It said that CEOs "need to determine if a highly evolved supply chain is a necessary competitive advantage." Woods got credit for that observation and went on to say, "companies need to determine if they fit into that space or if they just need parity with their programs."

Now this is an interesting twist. It basically says supply chains may only need to be as good as the competition. Unfortunately, it completely flies in the face of what leaders in warehousing and distribution have been telling Modern Materials Handling for some time now. Furthermore, it practically shouts mediocrity, and I just don't see that as a path to future success.

Then, the story (but not Woods) went on to say "companies must now ask the strategic questions that should have been asked before the purchases (of software) were made."

Now let me get this right. The problem might not be the software (or even the people). Instead, the premise that supply chains need to improve could be the wrong strategy.

If you believe that, I strongly encourage you to hand in your resignation today. Just walk away from the DC or warehouse you've been working so hard to improve. Your departure will immediately pay dividends, and remove one more disruptive element from the supply chain. Better yet, it will deprive your CEO of misguided input that a supply chain that beats the competition is unnecessary. This whole process may not be easy, but let's not be stupid about it just because someone didn't get it right the first time.