The Big WHAT

Recently been thinking a lot about the big WHAT in Supply Chain. WHAT is the big goal, the main purpose, the underlying driver behind all we do in Supply Chain each day. We manage inventory, freight, quality, fulfillment, costs, production, capacity, analytics and so much more… it’s easy to get wrapped around the wheel on any of these topics… or get totally derailed when one of these goes off the tracks (3 train analogies in one sentence is winning). So- truly- in this increasingly complicated Supply Chain environment, what is the end goal?  

Simply put- We are here to facilitate fulfilling our customers’ needs. 

Now, before you go calling “Captain Obvious” on this- let’s elaborate:

How many times have you worked in a company that utilizes a software/system that delays or even prevents the ability to fulfill customer requirements?

How many times have Supply Chain processes hindered instead of enabled the ability to get inventory where it needs to go and when?

How many times have you or your Team spent inordinate amounts of time preparing reporting that only confuses or clouds the main question- are we able to fulfill our customer’s needs?

As companies grow, and things start to move faster, and distribution widens- complexity enters. Data and the way information flows get more detailed. Processes necessarily split into a deeper and narrower scope. Tools and people are added to allow for expansion. Focus divides and gains specialty. 

Expertise and precision on a grand scale…. Or a cumbersome, disjointed bureaucracy.

With each tool, each role, each process, each data point, each plan and metric and KPI introduced to the company, the end question should be, must be, will this allow us to better serve and deliver to our customers?

Because that is WHAT we are here to do each day.