Time to Look in the Mirror

Who’s to blame if your supply chain falters?

As an operations management professor, I am always asking my graduate students a lot about their own companies and sometimes I am disappointed with the answers I get. Many are very good working in their own functional silos but they know little about how their jobs impact other areas of their business.

I am a fan of the holistic approach to management. We need to approach the company system as a whole and make sure all of the functions work together. Honestly, I don’t see a lot of integrated efforts. And I cannot blame it on the economy. The same dysfunction occurred even during the good times. A lack of leadership? Internal competition for resources? Petty jealousy? Poor morale? Pick one or more.

This is especially true when working in the supply chain. We are quick to blame suppliers for poor performance…..anything from late deliveries to high prices. Yet, a series of poor marketing forecasts, late payments to suppliers, uncertain design criteria, poor communication, and shifting quality requirements can significantly impact suppler performance. And poor supplier performance leads to poor customer service. Some companies never recover from this gloomy cycle.