Supply chain covers sections of sub-functions, eg procurement, inventory, logistics etc, which live on voluminous data usually.
Good data analysing, interpretation and presentation are essential for good decision making, problem solving and direction shaping for supply chain operations.
Most businesses have ERPs in position to capture daily transactions, that become raw data. Yet comes to meaningful reporting, if an ERP itself doesn’t produce tailored ones for the specific business contexts and intentions, we go to programs like Excel, BI etc.
Like other tools, if not being used properly, we end up having hundreds of sundry sheets. I know many people hate this.
Otherwise, the tool could also be used to generate meaningful, easy and effective information to base our discussions, thinking and actions. The companies where I applied supply chain optimisation, typically, had 1-2 spreadsheets from me, of this kind.
They were the ones I used to convince top management to deviate to different and better methodologies, to illustrate how we could think over current practices, how things performed and were performing with different SC setups.
The files became the key foundations for the SOP team’s regular discussions, on business’ capacities and opportunities that were achievable, also the foundations for SC and financial gurus to discuss fund liabilities and flow...
This is one of the reasons why, for many companies intending to improve the operations, it’s not necessarily a ‘must’ to change over the whole ERP system which costs precious fortune yet might well incur asphyxiant disruptions.
If people’s perspectives don’t change (along with it, the necessary skillsets), new ERPs which serve people’s intentions, may not ‘automatically’ bring the shining results that are expected.
It’s different thinking - as the starting point, we need to have in place.
For that, we cannot work on dull data, which could direct and convince us to repeat the old and costly routines that consume a business gradually.
Good data, showing essential facts and trends. Bad data telling stories.
Prudent risk management starts with sound business understanding, from good data. 💎
Comments