In today’s fast-paced world, success means getting ahead of change, not just keeping up with it. It’s no different for your supply chain. Growing customer demands.
Shifting regulations. Big impact events like natural disasters. It’s no wonder companies are looking for hyper-agile, synchronized supply chains.
But are they looking in the right place?
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Developing apps and algorithms is quick and affordable because you’re not starting from scratch. Development happens on top of the solid foundations of a trusted and secure platform boosted by decades of productized supply chain expertise. Tap into our patented database technology, best-in-class speed, scalability and synchronization across the supply chain network.
There’s no crying in supply chain. Except when there is. Working in this industry is tough. The challenges are large. The pressure to cut costs, improve efficiency and keep customers happy even more so. Despite all that, this past week at Kinexions ’19 in Orlando, Florida, I was reminded once again how enriching, inspiring and fun (yes, fun!) working in this industry can be.
The annual conference held by Kinaxis for its users and supply chain innovators is always a highlight for me. For the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with customers, prospects and partners at this event. Understanding their triumphs and tribulations. Sharing in their passion and joy. Witnessing year-over-year how they do things with our software, and within their supply chains, I never dreamed possible.
There are lots of organizations that claim to have reinvented supply chain planning. They say they simplify planning by aligning different supply chain processes or functions. There’s just one problem: None have truly reached their goal. None really do concurrent planning.
While many companies claim to solve the sequential planning issues of the past, few have. They have brought parts of the planning process into the cloud, added algorithms and machine learning capabilities, or simplified reporting procedures.
But most still rely on parts of the same vicious, siloed cycle that’s been in use forever: wait for someone ahead of you to generate a plan, create your plan using their results, try to reconcile these plans with one another and eventually recognize that everyone’s plans have become meaningless in the time it’s taken to reach a consensus.
![[On-demand webinar] How to stop planning in the dark - WATCH NOW](https://blog.kinaxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Social_incl-LinkedIn-1200x628-v4.png)
making decisions in the dark.Some things are better in the dark. Fireworks. Watching a movie. Robbing a bank. Supply chain planning isn’t one of them. So why do so many companies still plan that way?
Managing a supply chain is tough enough without having to make decisions blind. Increasing cost pressures, growing customer expectations, expanding ecosystems—all add to the complexity you’re facing every day.
But today’s planning reality leaves way too much in the dark. Siloed data and processes don’t deliver the visibility you need. Cumbersome, disconnected systems don’t provide the flexibility and agility you want. The resulting lag time leaves you feeling like you’re jumping through hoops only to get to the wrong answer. Planning in the dark like that only leads to unexpected and unwanted results.
Do you need a reality check? There’s a lot of hype around #digital. Invest in the right areas for your #supplychain. Be bold. But be calculated. You may need to invest in a solids foundation first. #GartnerSCC pic.twitter.com/hV4cgRceJV
— Alexa Cheater (@Alexa_Cheater) May 14, 2019
The debate over whether technology is required to run supply chains is over. It has been for a while now. In the next five years, we’ll see more innovation than the last century, and that’s staying a lot given in those 100 years we put a man on the moon, invented aerosol spray cans and saw the world revolutionized by personal computers, the internet and mobile phones.
Looking around on day two of the Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference in Phoenix, AZ I see evidence of the world’s past innovation everywhere. From the phones and tablets in fellow attendees’ hands to the wireless earbuds and smart watches they’re wearing to the very screens presentations are being shown on. Innovation is everywhere. It’s inescapable. Even in the confines of your Excel-driven supply chain.
As Amber Salley and James Lisica, senior director analysts for Gartner, so poignantly put it during their keynote presentation on converging the physical and digital supply chains—if you’re still operating on the back of an Excel spreadsheet, it’s time for a reality check.
Ben Massie from @Lenovo talking transitioning from #survivalmode to #leadership mode at #GartnerSCC. pic.twitter.com/TXmFojVBHZ
— Alexa Cheater (@Alexa_Cheater) May 13, 2019
“Stand up if you know what it’s like to live through an acquisition, or if you’ve experienced a crisis at your company at some point in time.”
That was how Ben Massie, Vice President of E2E Supply Chain Execution at Lenovo, kicked off his presentation at the 2019 Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference in Phoenix, AZ. Nearly everyone in the room was standing—myself included.
Massie’s story centered on his journey from IBM to Lenovo during the acquisition of System X—a seven-year process from sale to hyper growth.
There were layoffs. A lot of them. A revolving door of mangers. Seven in sixteen months. And a shift in culture that put the emphasis solely on the bottom line.
![[On-demand webinar] Slide into a new supply chain planning experience](https://blog.kinaxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Feb-4-Social-LinkedIn-1200x628-Webinar-1024x536.png)
Let’s face it. Managing a global supply chain is no easy feat. You constantly have to solve complex problems and manage shifting situations driven by things like regulation changes, growing consumer expectation and geo-political unrest. Tradeoffs and difficult choices are everywhere.
Add to that the fact that many of us are still using antiquated technology that just hasn’t kept up with the times and it’s no wonder we often feel stuck in firefighting mode.
