5 supply chain management habits that will land you on the naughty list

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It’s that time of year again when Santa’s busy making a list, checking it twice and trying to find out who’s naughty or nice. If you haven’t broken these ineffective supply chain management habits, you’re likely to find nothing but a lump of coal in your stocking come Christmas.

1. Working in silos

When it comes to achieving supply chain success, it can’t just be all about your own results. That’s unfortunately often the prevalent mentality in siloed organizations. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in the rest of the supply chain, as long as your team is meeting its goals and objectives. Siloed processes, people and functions work toward their own goals in isolation, instead of working towards the health of the overall supply chain. These negatively affect response time, as it can take hours, days or weeks to understand the complete impact of a decision on the entire supply chain. So get out there and collaborate. Your supply chain and your social life will thank you.

2. Global and regional misalignment

Most large enterprises now operate on a global scale. That means divisions all over the world. But regionalized processes may not be what’s best for the overall supply chain. And multiple enterprise resource systems and other solutions that don’t talk to each other effectively certainly aren’t. Managing operations for a specific geographical location independently of others will cause misalignment – strengthening those silos and creating data management and transfer barriers. As a result, end-to-end visibility becomes more difficult. Ensure your supply chain is successful by connecting data, processes and people across the entire network.

3. Lack of engagement

Everyone, from the day-to-day supply chain practitioner all the way up to the c-suite, has to be energized and engaged when it comes to the benefits an effective supply chain can bring. For executives, that means going beyond a one-time cursory glance at the metrics. Managing by numbers can’t be the only way you’re assessing your supply chain’s overall health. You need a well-planned strategy and effective execution. That means strong leadership, clear goals and meaningful metrics – all clearly communicated across the entire company.

4. Disparate systems

Making sense of all that information streaming into your supply chain because of the Internet of Things and big data is no easy feat. It’s challenging enough without the limitations of archaic systems never designed to integrate and process that much detail. Gluing together disparate systems is time consuming, error prone and difficult to maintain. It deteriorates accuracy and slows down decision-making. Find a better solution to meet the changing needs of your supply chain and your business.

5. Too many spreadsheets

Relying on a proliferation of Excel spreadsheets will cost you the agility needed to adapt. You’ll suffer from limitations in reliability, scalability and collaboration, with a greater chance for errors and delays as you try to determine which version contains the latest and most accurate numbers. In short, just don’t do it! Find a supply chain solution that lets everyone work from the same data set. Having a single source of truth will go a long way in bolstering your success. On the naughty list this year? Not to worry, 2017 is right around the corner and provides the perfect opportunity to set some supply chain New Year’s resolutions. If you’re looking for a little help to get your supply chain in shape, contact us today to find out how RapidResponse® can make 2017 your best supply chain year yet!


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