Supply Chain Improvements - the "Leagile" way

Supply Chains have always relied on the Western World models and in certain instances - Japan. So the configuration of Supply Chains draw a lot from the practices in that way of working, including the approach to improvement initiatives of Supply Chain. 

A close analysis of the yesteryear's Supply Chain Improvement models lead me to three conclusions - they are resource heavy, the wish to always be very structured and are unclear of their ROI.

Lets take an example of an organisation which wishes to create a Supply Chain Improvement. In all probability it creates a Steering committee which in turn creates a sub-committee which in turn leads to Team players who in turn will ask people to generate ideas. This idea collation leads to idea screening & by the time one implements the idea the time consumed in the  life cycle of an idea, cost of Management time involved in decision making & more importantly assumption about the market environment (which is dynamic), the cost of implementing outweigh the benefits. Not to forget the heavy cost of Information Technology where people may post ideas, screen ideas & eliminate ideas without trying! And make no mistake that the ideas found worth implementing may not have any better probability of a higher ROI than the ones turned down.

This approach has succeed in the past. That is to say may be before the dot com boom or at the time when external environment was stable, loyalty was in the value system and structure was to be obeyed.  

I think time has come where we need de-centralised, less documentation intensive & be quick on the feet approach towards Supply Chain initiatives. Use the Lean approach just for knowing what is Waste and handle the life cycle of an idea being "Agile".

Indians have always been very good with heuristics. (I call it their "gut feel" or "Sixth sense"). The whole idea of being Structured (read: documentation & long review meetings) is against the professionals root level spirit. AND this spirit (of not willing to be too structured) is probably the best suited for the new generation of initiatives. In my own engagements i see a lot of inertia when professionals are asked to attend review meeting, make presentation but they are extremely insightful about their own place of work & many times know how to get an issue fixed. This "Agile" approach is what is needed today.

Most of Indian Professionals have an innate ability to live in an environment of "Constrained" resources. This will make it good for my Supply Chain improvements. These folks would have an ability to create "more with less". Leverage that ability. Most of them know how to make a "jugaad" (taken with positive connotation) & make it work. Whats the fun of making such a great ability be lost for the sake of being "Structured".

My major observation also is managements, particularly in India, are predominantly Owner driven in contrast to Western world. Western managements probably care more about their Shareholder returns than in India where largest Shareholder may probably be the owner himself. Supply Chains in India hence can have improvements initiatives with a better turn around time & be agile to the market as the layers of decision making can be eliminated, if one desires to be agile in approach.

The history of Supply Chain Improvement initiatives is about being "Lean", which for me represents a context of supply chain which is probably passed by in the life of a Supply Chain. Agility is the name of the game. Why not take best of both the worlds. As much as Human anatomy has not changed for a few thousand years, so have the Wastes in organisation. Use Lean to appreciate the Wastes. And as much as has life become instant gratification post advent of internet so has been the case for being "Agile" in implementing the Improvement. So "Leagile" improvements is the need for Supply Chain Improvements.