In his research as the executive director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, J. Paul Dittmann, Ph.D., has found that of the 15% of U.S. corporations with a supply chain strategy in place, its development is treated as a non-trivial exercise.
“Most companies will take an afternoon to talk about supply chain strategy as part of an off-site planning session for next year. And that’s not enough,” he notes. “The companies that do this well understand it requires a lot of information—perhaps over as many as three months—before they determine what the strategy is, and what the right projects are.”
According to Dittmann, a strategic supply chain planning process should encompass an understanding of the following:
1. What your customers want and need;
2. Where your company stands versus best-in-class;
3. What mega-trends are developing in your industry;
4. What technologies are changing in your field; and
5. What your competitors are doing.
Then, once the supply chain strategy is in place, a commitment has to be made to communicating and championing its importance organization-wide. Additionally, says Dittmann, schedule a formal, annual review of the plan to ensure that it is keeping pace with the dynamic and ongoing changes faced by businesses every day.
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