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The People Side of Supply Chain Performance
Andrea CharmanSenior Partner
EquiLearn Group, UK, 44 207 736 [email protected]
[email protected]
91st Annual International Supply Management Conference, May
2006
Abstract. Traditionally, improving supply chain efficiency and
effectiveness has focusednumbers, technology and processes rather
than people issues such as how to lead andmanage talent, how to
create an environment that fosters collaboration, partnership, a
worldclass community of practice, a culture of competitive
innovation. Surprising though it mayseem, it is only now that we
are seriously thinking about the complexities of the people
factor;accepting that this is perhaps the most critical factor in
achieving and exceeding our businessgoals rather than just pay lip
service to the point. You will know those old threadbare
mantras
Our people are our most valuable resource!Investing in
people.
None of us works in isolation; we are all in multiple
stakeholder environments where neithertechnology, nor braininess
alone will meet our performance aspirations. Indeed, how manyreally
clever people do you know who somehow fail to achieve the high
levels of success thatmight be assumed to be within their
brainpower? How many high IQ people do you know whofail to engage
the followership of others and hence suboptimise somehow do not
meetleadership expectations ?
Todays ever-more demanding social and business environment
contextualized by massiveand yet, unknowable changes and outcomes,
demands no less than a redefinition and arethinking of how we
approach our professional challenges. Expectations of
thecustomer/consumer even our colleagues in the workplace are ever
more demanding. Theradical broadening of focus from early supply
chain optimization concentration on internalprocess excellence
towards an extended inclusive model that embraces internal and
externalpartners - the total network brings further demands on
practitioners. In this climate, thearbiters of success focus
excellence in network management with its emphasis on
transparentintegrated (or synthesized) collaborative effort.
Competency in business relationships internal and external - and
all that this implies, take center stage, with cutting edge
technology
a given. The potential barriers to excellence in this
interenterprise (and often global) modelbegin with certain
organizational cultures of distrust where cultural and emotional
intelligenceare in short supply and where hostility and adversarial
attitudes abound.
This session considers just what it will take the people side to
both survive and succeed.What is required to establish the
essential transparent, trusting environment where businessaction
choices are executed with speed and effectiveness because shared
rewards (aligned
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success criteria) ensure shared knowledge/know-how that in turn
triggers ground breakinginnovation.
This interactive workshop explores the people issues the
critical skills and attitudes andattributes - while, at the same
time, illustrates that the advance of technology only serves
tohighlight the urgency of the people factor rather than diminish
it in importance.
The Opportunity. Offering a transparent interenterprise best
practice business model as abaseline to propose a cluster of
literacies or intelligences as arbiters of practitioner
success,this session will challenge your received view of what
constitutes supply chain optimizationboth intellectually and in
hands-on a conversational, practitioner to practitioner
context.
.
Objectives.
A: To offer an actionable inventory of critical capabilities for
world class performanceB: To explore critical issues such as
building a robust relationship with internal sponsors and
external partnersC: To share a researched overview of the people
barriers to supply chain excellenceD. To reflect on a best practice
thumbnail case as a baseline for workplace improvementE. To
experience a snapshot of what this means in practical tertms
References
Christopher, Martin. Logistics and Supply Chain Management, FT
London, 1998Sherman, RJ. On Integration and Service, CLM
Proceedings, 1991Gallis, Howard. Beyond Technology to Excellence,
SCM, London, Spring 2005
Kraljic, P. Purchasing must become supply management, Harvard
Business Review, Sept/Oct83
