AMR Research has put out a new article discussing the unique challenges of globalization. The article references input from the Supply Chain Council’s recent Executive Retreat of over 100 leading companies.

Source: AMR Research

The article went on to say “a survey of the 100 attendees showed reliable supply—managing variable, yet long cycle times—as a top issue in an increasingly global environment. Next on the list was building the global organization, with 40% of those polled saying their company built global supply chain centers of excellence. For the other 60%, the primary reporting relationship is through manufacturing. Sometimes, a focus on manufacturing can hinder supply chain growth.”

The issue of globalization and its impact on supply chains is something we deal with a lot. What I’ve seen is that the companies that are thriving in this environment are one’s that thing of partnering rather than strictly outsourcing and build competencies around how to coordinate effective response to change across their multi-enterprise supply networks. The realization that each party has unique capabilities and competencies that must be orchestrated to all work together in the face of constant change is essential.

This is a new way of thinking for many. It’s very different than doing everything yourself as you did when you only manufactured internally. Globalization and the move to supply networks with multiple 3rd parties have changed the game and brought with it many new challenges.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 26th, 2007 at 9:14 am and is filed under Best practices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.