Supply Chain Fundamental Rethinking

Organisations are systems. They take input from the external environment, process it and give back the output to the external environment. The subystems of the organisation play their role in the cycle. A subsystem has a role for itself and a contribution towards the overall system. The delicate balance of individual goals and the system goals is an area where many organisations fail. Failure lacks reasoning for many as the subsystems seems to deliver what is expected out of them. It is apparent that individual achievements don't necessarily lead to organisational achievements. Something some where seems to be wrong. Supply Chain is the central nervous system of an organisation. By the definition of being the central nervous sytstem it inherently has the accountability of the health of the system. A central nervous syetsm is still a 'subsystem' so is Supply Chain. In my understanding it is the role of the central nervous system to ensure the synchronization of the other s...

'Demand Planning' has been in vogue for a while . Simply put its ancipating the probability of occurance of an event called 'Sales' led by an action by an entity called 'Customer'. Sometimes 'Consumer'. Supply Chains have gotten themselves equipped with all possible ammunition to meet the 'demand' in the most efficient way. Processes have been laid down to forecast, parameters for identification of variations are more than what humanly is identifiable and demand planning process is an obession for most of the stake holders in the organisation. Network Analysis and Decisions have been the core of Supply Chain Design which dominantly exists for aligning and synchronising the supply side with demand (read: what the customer may need). Inventory policies are laid down with identification of safety stocks and reorder levels. In the supply chains which are mutli organisations and geographies, 'technology' becomes the back bone of the planning...

Organisations, as they grow, find business continuity to be a risk hence have a "Back Up Plan". Its also termed as 'Alternate Strategy', 'or may be 'Plan B'. It simply means that there always is a fall back option. I have been wondering if Supply Chains also need a 'Wake Up Plan'? As Supply Chains have become more complex, highly interdependent, synchronous and almost working towards no room for 'blinking your eye' the possbility of a small lapse somewhere in the long mutli- partner chain can have tremendous cascading effects reaching very high proportions. To avoid any member in the supply chain to create a lapse, i like to have what i term as a 'Wake Up Plan'. It's just a system which keeps the system error proof so that organisations continue to march on their journey of supply chain excellence. 'Wake Up Plan'! I like my newly coined term.