Restlessness is good ! No great supply chain executive can afford to rest . This also defines agility . It drives the right behaviours . Always think about how the supply chain will be disrupted . This is the only certain thing we know . Take the preventive pill - prepare and prepare , simulate and again re-simulate stuff . Get to know risks . the acceleration pedal !
SUPPLY CHAIN
Supply Chain : Restlessness
By Michael Nzule
Restlessness is the inability to relax . As applied to logistics , this might define the norm , the way of life . It is the inability to relax until the job is done . It is also the demonstrated capability of getting all cogs working , to create some harmony in chaos . How can one be comfortable in being restless ? Simply put , can there be comfort in managing supply chains ? Logistics industry jobs are always time bound . Given the time constraint , it is then all about restlessness until exceptional outcomes are delivered , to delight the end customers . This , in a world of total uncertainty , is all about systems , experience , tenacity , agility , right people and talent , and getting all these to work . The big question in managing supply chains should always be “ what is the next big risk that can crystallise ?”
What are the drivers of restlessness ? In some circles , this is referred to as disruptors . However , we can look at the day to day triggers of restlessness and differentiate the same from disruptors , which tend to be ‘ mega ’ in nature . Some simple ones are around managing schedules , tracking flow of materials , uncertain regulator and government agencies ’ activity , data overload , managing system failures , managing staff , natural disasters , quality , visibility , third party logistics partners . We now explore these in the context of restlessness .
Managing work and project schedules assumes degree of certainty in occurrence of events and availability of the resources required . The science behind this also assumes flexibility and near zero inertia in reacting . Key skills are required in creating the required break down of tasks ( or work streams ), providing estimates for task duration , determining the resources required , identifying dependencies between tasks and linking these to key milestones . What this does is to create some degree of predictability in the logistics project or job . It sounds simple , but the only certain thing for a manager , is that having a plan is great , but rarely do events go as planned , hence forever one has to remain restless till the job is done . Just keep the eyes on the dashboard , but do not forget the foot on
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Restlessness is good ! No great supply chain executive can afford to rest . This also defines agility . It drives the right behaviours . Always think about how the supply chain will be disrupted . This is the only certain thing we know . Take the preventive pill - prepare and prepare , simulate and again re-simulate stuff . Get to know risks . the acceleration pedal !
The next driver of restlessness that we wish to explore is supply chain visibility . One may ask whether the supply chain is opaque . Can one be able to monitor and track the movement of materials and goods in the supply chain ? This puts pressure on technology requirements to support supply chain visibility . The right technology might not always be available , and even where it is available , other risks like cybersecurity keep on growing and pose huge risk to companies . As a logistics manager , managing any move of goods or materials requires an open mind . Where performance of modern technology may be threatened , traditional tracing methods that have worked should always provide an alternative . Further , governments have made it mandatory for companies to identify and report on country of origin , chain of custody and traceability of materials and goods in the supply chains . There are dire implications in non-compliance to such requirements , resulting into fines , or even bans which could negatively impact businesses .
Can a supply chain manager relax easy with the big data challenge and new security and privacy regulations ? Data security and privacy around customer-data security are a new challenge for companies . This is complicated further by multiple geographic requirements . This increases the supply chain risk and creates barriers for movement , traceability and use or disclosure of customer sensitive data . It is worth noting that the European Union through the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ), has forced companies to re-orient themselves on approaches and compliance to data protection . Non-compliance has direct impact on company ’ s corporate
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