The Conference Board’s CEO global outlook study for 2024 includes the following top high focus, internal issues:
Luckily, supply chains integrate each element listed above.
But only if the strategic plan calls for end-to-end integration.
Unfortunately, in many companies, many of the items will be “fixed” in a silo’d manner. Meaning solutions in one area will not work well, if at all, with solutions in another area.
How many companies may be stifling innovation by using silos?
33% of respondents in The Conference Board’s survey that stated they were not changing their supply chains. Regrettably, this often means silo’d solution development stays in vogue at the company since silos are common.
By not changing supply chain setup for improved performance in today’s environments, the risk of obsolescence and then of not being attractive to talent is very real. The risk of losing competitive value is also very real.
But let’s say your leadership is interested in understanding how an integrated solution set should look for the above issues.
If we start with a focus on supply chain sustainability (yes, including the ESG part, as well as the viability part where the supply chain survives variability as well as minor and mid-level shocks.), you might present something like:
As you innovate, integration of issues is required so solution sets are not constantly reworked every time a new issue comes up which needs flexibility not thought about before.
A great way to frustrate your workforce and keep them looking for other opportunities is to not adjust how you do business – especially when expectations of performance have changed.
Keeping your supply chains the same means success metrics may not be adjusted to accommodate what is desired. Old metrics may not capture improvement, or failure, leaving you in the dark on what is really happening.
The report by The Conference Board shows high leadership interest in accelerating the pace of digital transformation, including AI, while also citing much lower leadership focus on AI governance policy.
But policy is made from corporate strategy.
Policy is governance. Policy helps set needed metrics.
And governance is a starting point for tying together your digital strategies (hopefully you have them – especially for AI) and integrating solutions by not separating everything into small pieces to be solved independently without coordination across functional areas.
But hey, as long as it works, at least you have solutions. Right?
What really happens?
Employees become frustrated. Or become more frustrated. Supply chain performance is negatively affected. Systems don’t talk to each other. With AI, those systems may even try to compete against each other. The company loses revenue making capacity – maybe capability – as in, it may lose revenue.
How should you prevent these solvable, catastrophic effects from happening? The list needs solutions. Solutions that will help gain competitive advantage, not hurt it.
Use a supply chain governance framework that assists leadership with strategy, policy setting, and communication.
SCOR is such a framework.
A good framework allows you to determine which combination of elements released at what time will provide the measurable results you seek with the capabilities you have at that time.
Strategic, tactical, and operational optimization is available using SCOR’s tiered framework. It defines and connects the high and low impact issues you as a leader deal with and want innovated and resolved.
To learn more about the SCOR framework before identified issues become even bigger, outsized problems, click here.
Thank you for reading my blogs.
#CEO #supplychain #talent #digitaltransformation #producttransformation #sustainability #costreduction #integration #optimization #organization #SCOR #SCORFramework #CynthiaKalinaKaminsky #ProcessandStrategy
Cynthia Kalina-Kaminsky is an ASCM Master SCOR instructor and consultant, and a supply chain professional. She is holding a public SCOR workshop soon where you can learn how to integrate issues and solutions. Learn more here
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