Supply Chain People

People make the difference in the ability of the supply chain to innovate and drive market change.  This can, and has been said about many organizations many times and this is also true, my focus though is on the supply chain and why people are so important.  The supply chain still depends heavily on people to execute and this interaction must be taken into account when planning for execution and also for strategic planning and market changes and disruption.  

The supply chain is still heavily dependent on people to not only get the day to day activities completed but also for customer interaction and change planning and implementation.   The supply chain is an extremely volitile market form both a day to day support perspective to a change management and implementation perspective. It is fortunate for the supply chain market that there is such a strong relationship between the operational execution and the change forecasting and planning, without this close relationship there would be no way for the operational execution to keep up with the market developments.  The supply chain people are critical to the full suport of the supply chain market demands, and especially the interactions between opertional execution, customer demands, changing market conditions and demands for new services. The high degree of interaction is a key factor to the ability of the supply chain partners to support the market demands. The supply chain interaction is truly a type of social network that connects people and activities and schedules in a way that can be quickly and efficiently adjusted to meet the demands at hand.

The supply chain market is a vast network of connections supporting interactions and execution and this network is a small world of people connected to each other in a robust ‘six degrees of separation’ network where everyone knows each other through a finite set of connections.  This social network or connectivity is based on respect and trust in the capabilities and execution of activities across the network. The supply chain network provides a current example of how the business marketplace is expanding though social interactions and networks to building a living organism of supply chain partners and the people in these organizations are a key driving force in creating these social network connections.

I have been in this business for almost 30 years and can honestly say that my supply chain social network has grown with additions and very few subtractions.  The suppy chain network is truly made up in a social networking loose connectivity relationship model where connections are willing and open to providing introductions and referrals across the many layers of network connections.  I have always been amazed at the different range and breadth of connections that are available for the making across the network to reputable people. The supply chain network, like any other social network lives and dies by reputation and it is important to maintain a reputation and relationship with your network.

In the supply chain market and network there is a strong personal bond across the network and the people have connected and developed a very strong social network of connections that are open and willing to support their connections in an unselfish manner because it is understood that the connections is a two way street where mutually beneficial developments push the market forward.  I am not sure that there are any other practices that depend on the network and the people as much as the supply chain.

Supply Chain Partner In Change

The supply chain is one of the key driving factor and more importantly enabling factor in the market changes that have been hitting the market especially in the last few years focusing on enabling change in practices and capabilities.  The supply chain network must be viewed as a partner in change to enable the market to change in support of the market and consumer demands. This opportunity to develop and strengthen the ability to drive and react to changing market conditions simply cannot be met without a robust partnership with partners in the supply chain network.  This is really nothing new, as the supply chain has been such a integral partner in the market and changes to the market and the development and growth in their abilities results in the need for stronger partnerships. The supply chain partners came into the time of change with a great model for engineered continuous change and this has allowed the supply chain to react and drive change to meet the market demands.

These times of market upheaval require strong partners in change and the supply chain network can and must be viewed as one of the key partners in change.  The supply chain network can provide a robust framework to support this change model necessary to navigate through the market changes and disruption. The supply chain network has a great deal of experience in navigating change that can help their market partners to understand and even flourish in the market by adapting and embracing the change procedures that have allowed the supply chain to flourish.  The supply chain is really in the forefront of change and especially the practices that support the ability to sense and respond to change. This change model should be used to model the market change model used by other participants to help to navigate through the many and frequent changes.

What we have learned over the years is that large changes and market disruption start with a small initial change and this change grows and propagates changes that shape and change the market in a manner that can easily be overlooked until it is almost too late.  Take a look at the Internet and eCommerce as an example, this market has in reality be changing and shifting in fits and bounds and when you analyze the changes over months it is a quite different picture than when you review the changes over years. What this tells me is that it is critical to incorporate a robust change model that allows the partners to sense and respond to change and market developments.  In addition, this model requires a change in the culture to accept and embrace robust collaboration practices to help navigate the change.

Using eCommerce as a reference the point that stands out in my mind is the disruption and struggle of the large legacy retailer to catch up to the consumer demands and expectations.  This is because these retailers did not have a strong sense and respond change model and also because the did not have a strong culture or collaborative partnerships in their support network.  The supply chain network can provide the model and the practices to help to guide the market participants through the changing marketplace. This guidance and partnership in change is becoming more and more important as a result of the changes in the market and the increase in specialization in the partners.  The partnership network is becoming larger and more important to success.

Tuning Supply Chain Network

The supply chain is a key participant in the collaborative business partnerships providing a menu of services and partners to support the needs of their partners along with development of market improvements.  These market improvements and are driven by the imagination of the partners as well as the demands of the market. However there are two additional activities that are key contributing factors to the partnerships that provide a basis for market disruption; review and tuning of the supply chain network to support a continuous renewal process and imaginative partners to spark creativity.  The value of the network is in the partners involved and not in any one individual. This is very different than any past experience or market participant, this is the expansion and growth of the social network practices and capabilities into the commercial market.

These networks require a continuous tuning in the way that services are provided, in the types of services provided and most importantly in the partners participating in the network.  There is a continuous growth and change in the network that both reacts to the market and directs the market, this is a new type of disruption in the market that feeds on itself and the needs of the partners.  The partners in this network are truly dependent on the other partners in the network because of the level of specialization and because of this dependency there is a very high requirement to also continuously tune the network to sense and respond to change.  The change can come from many different directions and also many different partners and even markets.

Tuning this network is the result of a robust collaborative continuous improvement process based on frequent open and robust communications along with a desire to experiment and change.  These improvements come from many different directions and not just the market influences. The integration changes and grows into other markets and networks based the requirements at the time and the reaction and communications are growing and changing along with the networks.  The collaborative and networking practices are being driven by the entry and growth of millennials in these networks. The entry of millennials first changed the shopping and purchasing practices of consumer industry and now they are changing the work practices and collaborative networking practices.

These changes are being embraced by the supply chain now because they are a natural fit to their needs and practices.  The supply chain extended network is a natural fit to these practices and the network is ripe and open to embracing the change.  The supply chain has always embraced change and this change is no different. The supply chain network will expand and grow in new and creative ways that bring together new practices to deliver new capabilities to the supply chain network and in so doing will surly disrupt the markets that are engaged with their services.  There is a need for continuous tuning in the supply chain network to support new practices and also to update and improve current systems. The marketplace is changing and the supply chain network is playing s significant role in this change and this is because the supply chain is a natural partner in change.