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May 24, 2012 - Supply Chain Newsletter
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This Week In SCDigest

bullet The Most Challenging Supply Chain Times Ever?
bullet SC Digest On-Target e-Magazine
bullet Supply Chain Graphic of the Week and Supply Chain by the Numbers bullet This Week In "Distribution Digest"
bullet Cartoon Caption Contest Continues This Week! bullet Trivia
bullet White Paper Available For Download bullet Feedback

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The Most Challenging Supply Chain Times Ever?

As we cruise into the Memorial Day weekend, a simple question: Are these the most complex and challenging supply chain times ever?

I was intrigued by that thought after reading a recent blog post from one of the analysts at IDC Manufacturing Insights, who said that there is at least anecdotal evidence that this was the case. So in our weekly Supply Chain Video New broadcast we release each week in partnership with CSCMP, I followed up this past Monday on that topic with another IDC analyst, Kimberly Knickle. She said that because the level of globalization continues to rise, this almost by definition makes the supply chain more challenging and complex each year, among other factors.

 

GILMORE SAYS:

"That said, I do believe this is the most challenging year in supply chain history – and that next year is likely to be worse still. It really is getting harder."

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

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Now, there is a natural tendency to think we are living in the most challenging times for everything, supply chain or not, so we have to recognize that internal bias when discussing this question. Nevertheless, it does objectively seem to me that our supply chains really do grow more complex every year.

Why? As Knickle said, the fact that almost every company is getting more global, not less so, is a key factor, but far from the only one. For example, companies are trying to optimize supply chain performance while at the same time increasing their focus on risk management year over year. This adds complexity, with risk a new dimension that clearly is growing in importance. I sometimes wonder if this a new supply chain trade-off curve: cost versus risk?

As I started to write this, the back of my brain was thinking “We need a way to measure supply chain complexity.” Then I remembered that several years ago, former Huffy bicycle president turned consultant and author John Mariotti, in his excellent book “The Complexity Crisis,” had suggested one approach an individual company might use to gauge its own level of supply chain complexity.

Mariotti said a company’s Complexity Factor (CF) might be calculated as follows:

CF= # of SKUs * # of Markets Served * # of Legal Entities in the Company * # of Facilities * (# of Suppliers + # of Customers)/Divided by Sales Revenue

Mariotti noted this might have to be changed for different types of businesses, and that it was only a rough calculation, but that it was certainly a reasonable place to start.

Now, at a high level there are two schools of thought on complexity: (1) that it must be ruthlessly rooted out, as Mariotti argues, else the company is doomed to underperform; (2) companies need to learn to “master complexity,” since it is here to stay, and use the superior ability to do so to gain advantage over competitors less able to gain such control. In fact, a notable report from Deloitte a few years ago called top performing companies “complexity masters,” which it said was comprised of just 7% of firms and which enjoyed outsized financial performance.

I suppose as usual the right path is a strong mix of both. Where to draw the line? That is the real question. Do any companies formally consider this balance between mastering complexity and reducing it? None that I know. And recall that a bit more than a year after it took thousands of SKUs off its store shelves to reduce its own supply chain complexity, Walmart restocked them all and then some in 2011 (more than 8500 SKUs in total), promoted with “It’s Back!” signs throughout the store.

So I think it would be interesting to develop some measure for both the supply chain as a whole (macro view) and at an individual company level (micro view) of the level of complexity. The former would probably only be really useful for analysts and various other pundits, but might be interesting to note each year. But the latter, if done well, might be beneficial for companies to analyze their own supply chains, as Mariotti suggested.

I also believe the right approach would be an index, not a raw score. In other words, you would pick some point as the baseline year – maybe the current year if just starting. So then if a company added SKUs this year, that would push the complexity score up. If it consolidated distribution centers, that would bring the complexity score down versus the baseline year, so you could track progress up or down. Similar to what Mariotti proposed, maybe just a little more sophisticated. I will work on it.

If anyone has done this or has any ideas on how it might be developed, let me know. My thoughts are evolving literally as a write this, but it seems to me I can square the circle by saying we must seek to master the inherent complexity that the macro world throws on us, and do so in part by reducing our internal complexity wherever possible.

That said, I do believe this is the most challenging year in supply chain history - and that next year is likely to be worse still. It really is getting harder. We need some way to quantify that a bit. Will we ever reach a peak point? Not sure on that.

What I do know - and which we often don’t want to admit - is that with the pain of rising complexity and other challenges comes greater importance and visibility for supply chain as a whole and for individual performance. A lot more executives care about transportation management today with rising fuel costs and concern about CO2 emissions than they did a decade ago, as just an easy example.

Complexity must be eradicated. Long live complexity...

I am sad to note that for the second time in less than a year, a former CSCMP Distinguished Service Award winner has passed away.

Bill Copacino, most notable for his years at Andersen Consulting and then heading up Accenture’s supply chain practice when the company was formed after Andersen split in two, died this past weekend after learning just a few weeks before that he had an aggressive and terminal form of liver cancer, shocking his family, friends and colleagues. He was 61.

Copacino won the DSA in 1998. Last summer, fellow award-winner Dr. Don Bowersox of Michigan State also passed away.

I only met Bill a few times, and he seemed like a genuinely nice man. His many writings certainly influenced my knowledge and perspective on supply chain management. He authored three books and more than 150 articles on supply chain and logistics, a few of them among the most influential ever, and was certainly one of the most visible and respected supply chain professional s for many years.

My friend Gene Tyndall, now at Tompkins International and who in a sense competed with Copacino while he was running E&Y’s supply chain practice in the 1990s, says that “"Bill was a true leader in our Supply Chain world, as well as a true friend. He brought lasting levels of progress, innovation, change, and professionalism to Supply Chain and Operations managers that will be valued forever. We lost a special and irreplaceable person, way too young, and way before his time.”

After retiring from Accenture in 2004, Copacino served as Chief Administrative Officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers, followed by a tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Oco, Inc., a software company recently acquired by Deloitte Consulting.

Dozens of supply chain professionals Copacino managed at Accenture are in high level positions today throughout the industry.

I would welcome your thoughts on complexity, and if these really are the most challenging supply chain ever, as well as any remembrances of Bill Copacino.



Are these the most challenging supply chain times ever? Why or why not? How can we measure macro and micro supply chain complexity? What are our memories of Bill Copacino? Let us know you thoughts at the Feedback button below.





   
SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS BITES

Supply Chain Graphic of the Week:

An Array of West Coast Port Statistics


This Week's Supply Chain by the Numbers for May 24, 2012:

  • US Factory Utilization Almost All the Way Back
  • SAP Reaches Deep in Wallet for Ariba
  • TVs being Made Again in America
  • Amazing Level of New Truckload Fleets

CARTOON CAPTION CONTEST CONTINUES THIS WEEK!

May 15 , 2012 Contest




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ONTARGET e-MAGAZINE

Weekly On-Target Newsletter:
May 23, 2012 Edition

Major New VICS Guideline,
Macy's Multi-Channel,
SAP Buys Ariba and more



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Holste's Blog: Electronic Commerce - Understanding Impact on DC Environment

THIS WEEK ON
DISTRIBUTION DIGEST

Top Stories: Logistics Savvy May Determine Multi-Channel Success, as Macys Revamps Fulfillment Network by Empowering Stores

Top Story: Warehouse Education and Research Council (WERC) 2012 Conference Video Review and Comment

Top Story : While The Trend Towards Automation in the DC is Undeniable - Still 70% of DCs Are Not Automated

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SUPPLY CHAIN TRIVIA

UPS entered the less-than-truckload market in 2005 when it acquired what existing LTL carrier?
Answer Found at the Bottom of the Page


Upcoming Videocast:


On the Trail to Traceability



Successfully Executing Recalls
in an Era of New Legislation, New Complexity, New Challenges

Featuring Simon Ellis, Practice Director,
Supply Chain Strategies for IDC Manufacturing Insights, and Dave Bruno, Editor of Commerce in Motion

New Upcoming Videocast:


Operations Rules for Driving

Business Value & Growth



Part 3: Complexity Reduction: Long Tail Analysis

Benefit from Clear Actionable Insight
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Featuring Dr. David Simchi-Levi of MIT

MAJOR NEW RESEARCH PROJECT

Supply Chain Execution 2012



Research Questions: What is current state of Logistics/Supply Chain Execution Technology (WMS, TMS, Visibility, etc.)? What are the Key Trends in Adoption? How Prevalent is new SCE "Platform" Thinking?

Can you please help by taking this quick 10 minute survey? All respondents will receive a summary of the data in just a few weeks.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012


Tuesday, June 19, 2012



YOUR FEEDBACK

 

Just catching up on a few of the many emails we get each week. Our feedback of the week comes from Paul Dowler of Lenavo, relative to our recent SCDigest Letter on Supply Chain Visibility.

Also publish a letter on the "Undercover Boss" episode that found working conditions in the DC are pretty tough, and some interesting comments on Amazon.com's surprise acquisition of Kiva Systems earlier this year.


 

Feedback of the Week - Supply Chain Visibility:


 
comma


The "visibility hub" that you refer to in your visibility framework graphic reminds me of U.S. Department of Defense efforts to provide a "common operating picture" (COP) of supply chain activities associated with the various types of military campaigns.

The complexity associated with viewing and coordinating countless types of material inflows and outflows (from food, to bullets, to tanks) and collaborating with multiple stakeholders (military from partner nations, NGOs, in-country local population, etc.) is second to none. If you cross paths with senior DOD officials, it might be worthwhile for you to ask about their insights on DOD's progress in developing a common operating picture capability to support their campaign efforts.

- Appreciate the work that you do @ SC Digest to keep our field abreast with information from outside each of our respective "4 walls."

Paul Dowler
Global Supply Chain Strategist
Lenovo



comma
 

More on Visibility:



 
comma

Thank you for your excellent Supply Chain Digest Letter on Supply Chain Visibility. It is the finest work I have seen on this critical topic.

I think the Visibility hub is an intriguing idea. If such a technology could really be developed, it would dramatically change the practice of supply chains.

The concept of Perfect Logistics is also intriguing.

Rob Delano

comma
 
 
 

On Amazon Buys Kiva Systems:

 

 
comma

I suspect most dot.com competitors will be reluctant to buy a this kind of technology from and then have to rely on Amazon for future support of it. So perhaps Amazon strategically feels this purchase will keep game-changing innovative technology out of the hands of its competitors.

Dr. Larry Lapide
MIT



comma
 
 
     
comma

Most of the cost driver in installing a KIVA system is in building the storage pods if you have a large SKU base. The costs of implementing KIVA in a large sku/small order sized environment like Amazon has plays directly to the strength of KIVA. KIVA will be comparable in price to set up in a facility to conventional racks, bins, and conveyors. The long term savings in conveyor maintenance and labor costs (KIVA is all goods-to-man) are significant, especially if you are able to get the installs at cost by owning the company.

KIVA also only requires about a 9 foot clear ceiling height and the product can be moved from one warehouse to a new warehouse over a weekend. This allows Amazon to consider lower cost lease buildings (anybody got an empty mall?) for site location and gives them the ability to rapidly move to another site with minimal cost should the lease costs get too expensive. No more being held hostage by a landlord because he knows it would cost you a couple of million to tear down and move an operation to a different site or that the business could not afford the disruption.

Amazon also received a lot of bad press over the past year regarding heat and working conditions in some of it's warehouses. Robots don't require air conditioning. It is much cheaper to install fans and control the environment at the pick stations than to pay for cooling an entire warehouse.

$775M may seem like a lot but in the end it will turn out to be a bargain for Amazon.

Don Gilmore
Distribution Management
NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc


________________________________________


comma
     
  On Tough DC Working Conditions at Undercover Boss:  
 


Often times in much of the country, warehouse facilities are kept at ambient temps- marketplace ROI's rarely justify climate control. That being the case, the warehouse is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It can be grueling- try stripping a floor loaded Boxcar filled floor to ceiling with 50 lb bags of dog chow on a hot July afternoon.

Longer rest periods and liquids are highly advised! Warehouses can be a bit dusty too. Heck, I even recall the days when we had to ink-stencil the LTL freight after order selection before the proliferation of PC-based printers and adhesive labeling. That ink ruined many a shirt or pant! So, many will consider that to be lousy duty understandably.

The question though is what is the path to progression beyond this level? Is the leadership, training, methods, equipment, uniforms and so on supportive so there is at least a professional, team oriented environment? Desk jobs can be lousy too!

Tom Miralia
President & CEO
Distribution Technology


 

SUPPLY CHAIN TRIVIA ANSWER

Q: UPS entered the less-than-truckload market in 2005 when it acquired what existing LTL carrier?

A: Overnite Express.

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