It has been a very busy week.  I just got back to my office from attending two very thought provoking conferences this week. On Wednesday, I attended Endeca’s first ever Manufacturing Summit meeting.  On Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend the Fall session of the MIT Forum for Supply Chain Innovation.

There’s also been a lot of news this week that has supply chain strategy implications.  

Over the coming days, look for a series of posts as I catch-up on these and other events. I believe you’ll find worth your read.

 Bob Ferrari

One of my multiple volunteer activities involves being a member of the Association of Operations Management (APICS) Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) Examination Review Committee.

For those readers not familiar with the exam, candidates have the opportunity to be tested and certified on a broad range of supply chain management competencies.  Our committee meets about two to three times per year, to review feedback and results from previous exams, and to work on revised areas for testing.  I was nominated to this committee based on my previous background in supply chain information systems which I acquired both as a noted supply chain industry analyst, as well as working at a number of very large and smaller supply chain software providers including Oracle and SAP.

The October meeting also brings together all of the other APICS certification exam committees, including those involving inventory, operations and production scheduling exam areas. The APICS management team brings together all of these teams once a year to communicate strategic direction, and potential new initiatives.

One of the areas I’m especially interested in is the newly released Supply Chain Manager Competency Model that was published in August.  This is a rather detailed description or guideline of broad-based skills required in mastering supply chain management, and can be downloaded from the APICS web site.  I hope to get a better understanding of this model, and will pen a future posting on my impressions of this model.

While in Chicago, I’m also planning to have dinner with my fellow blogger Jason Bush, who is the primary author of the Spend Matters blog, which is noted on this site’s Blog Roll.  Jason and I have known each other for many years, and often run into each other at various supply chain events, and discuss various supply chain trends and developments.  Whereas Jason was the first to introduce serious blogging to the supply chain world by coining the “Matters” blog tag, he has been very gracious to allow me to foster Supply Chain “Matters” moniker, to which I am grateful.

Bob Ferrari

I had the opportunity to provide the consultant input for the latest Manufacturing Business Challenge eNewsletter series featured by IndustryWeek magazine.

The challenge is one that may be very typical of your current organization which may be experiencing some initial positive signs of new customer demand, but may not be adequately prepared to respond.  As some early signs of recovery in business begin to appear, companies sometimes feel reluctant to augment existing supply chain capabilities in fear of an over reaction.

CortConnect  (a hypothetical company) is facing a number of simultaneous business challenges brought about by the effects of current business conditions.  These challenges include past downsizing in inventory and production operations affecting any ability to rapidly respond to new business, a downsized sales force, uncertain suppliers, and an overall workforce that is too heads-down to even consider improving work processes. 

Do these symptoms sound similar to your organization?

My recommended approach advises companies in this similar situation to focus on three broad and important capabilities:

- Strong demand-sensing to be able to pick-up on the early signs of upswing in customer demand, as well as the flexibility in sales and supply chain processes to be able to respond to whatever variations of demand that your customers require.

- Existence of robust supply chain business intelligence and analytics capability that can uncover potential bottlenecks before they become major problems.

- Investing in existing staff with broader training and business process capabilities.

You can view the full challenge as well as my recommended response at the following IndustryWeek link.  I also encourage you to participate in the interactive poll which can provide immediate feedback as to how other organizations are viewing these same challenges.  There is also a link available for you to provide commentary on my proposed approach, or you cam also share them in the Comments section noted below this posting.

One final note.  Many supply chain organizations have had little choice but to cut staffing to the bone because of the effects of this severe global recession. I made the observation that in some situations, when overloaded existing staff has no choice but to be “heads-down” in trying to manage day-to-day needs, it may be a wise investment to bring-in a consultant who can lay the groundwork for responding to a recovery in business. An unfortunate byproduct of current conditions is that businesses summarily cut budget for external consultants.  Now may be the time to consider engaging an experienced supply chain process consultant as an objective set of eyes that can assist your organization in being prepared for business recovery.

I can certainly assist your organization in overcoming similar challenges, in either an overall processes check, or assistance in validating supply chain best practice or transformation strategies. For more information on consulting capabilities, you can review The Ferrari Consulting Group web site.

Bob Ferrari

I am very pleased to inform readers that the month of August provided yet another milestone in the overall growth of Supply Chain Matters readership.  Not to bore you with statistics, but in the spirit of “proud father”, there were over were over 5000 views and 1200 unique visitors to this site in August, representing an 85% increase since June.  There are also now over 4300 hits from established bookmarks, doubling the number from June.  I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you for your continued interest and participation in this forum.

I started this journey of blogging back in mid-February with a two-fold strategy in mind.  First, that this blog could differentiate itself in the broader blogsphere by providing a different slant of advisory information, stimulate debate, and educate readers on what I believe to be the key topics in supply chain management and technology.  The blog title was chosen to reflect my belief that there is a continuing need to educate readers on the important aspects and critical strategies involved in managing global supply chains. Second, this blog also serves as a marketing instrument to my consulting and other advisory skills for clients. Like any other start-up business, I placed more early emphasis on open sharing of advisory information so that clients and prospects could get a sense of the consultancy.

Any venture needs to have an economic model to sustain itself, and Supply Chain Matters is no exception.  While I continue to believe that plastering this site with all sorts of search engine marketing advertisements dilutes the site for readers, some select sponsorships will help to insure needed investments in upgraded user features and scope of coverage. I have plans for adding podcasts, video, and other interactive features, but all of these require investment.  So if you are a supply chain technology, consulting services, or software provider, and find this site valuable for promoting thought leadership and education, please contact me at supplychaininfo@theferrarigroup.com. Select sponsorships are now available.

Bob Ferrari

Hi, I’m Bob Ferrari, the managing director of the supply chain consulting arm of The Ferrari Research and Consulting Group.  My background related to the practice of supply and value chain management includes former supply chain industry analyst roles at both AMR Research and IDC, consulting and implementation roles for software integrators, technology marketing leadership roles at two technology companies, including SAP, and many years of practioner experience in supply chain planning and execution.  You can view my full biography here.

 In this blog, I will provide my unbiased views, insights, and reader education into today’s burning topics surrounding the managing and deployment of global supply chains.  While there are many topics as well as bloggers in this area, I will provide focus on a critical few. Having viewed this area from many spectrums and constituencies, my goal is to present a balanced and insightful view of key strategic topics. The goal here is to advance our collective learning, and I welcome your comments and posts. Bob Ferrari