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Gaining a higher profile
More visibility required for supply chain management
For supply chain professionals, it’s no secret the profession is hampered by corporate uncertainty about what supply chain management encompasses and what it has the potential to accomplish for an organization. Compared to other corporate departments— finance, production or marketing for example—there is frequently not even a clear definition for supply chain management, let alone a deep corporate commitment to mastering the supply chain.
A higher profile for the profession is a pressing need. In fact, according to a keynote speaker at the recent Third Annual Supply Chain Symposium, a lack of clear corporate understanding and commitment to supply chain management results in lost competitiveness and, in the worst cases, lost shareholder value.
Jim Eckler, president and CEO of Progistix-Solutions Inc., told the gathering the current research shows companies suffering significant supply chain disruptions can lose from 33 to 40 per cent of stock market returns and can feel the impact of the disruptions for years.
The profession has come a long way since the phrase “supply chain management” was coined in the mid-1980s to acknowledge the revolution occurring in corporate purchasing, Eckler told the Symposium. But it has a long way to go and, according to PMAC president Robert Dye, that fact is a call to action for PMAC as the voice of the supply chain management profession in Canada.
Confusion over the role and potential of supply chain management is evident in the lack of a commonly-held definition for the profession. Is it purchasing, corporate procurement, materials management or logistics? “In a young discipline, it’s not uncommon for misuse of terms,” Eckler said. Part of the confusion arises because supply management runs horizontally across most organizations, with a stake in product development, production, finance, sales, and purchasing.
“With the lack of definition and clarity about the role of supply management, there comes a lack of effective governance,” he noted. “And that’s the biggest issue now for supply chain professionals.”
The solution? Eckler says professionals in supply management must start by clarifying authorities inside their organizations to improve corporate governance of the supply chain. “That’s a necessary first step to improving effectiveness and corporate performance.”
Step two is improving the quality of information and data supply chain professionals work with and pass back through the corporate structure. “Currently, the levels of data and information are very poor and that affects the business processes inside supply chain management.”
Finally, he told PMAC Pulse, there must be collaboration of supply chains. “At the moment, collaboration is haphazard and infrequent. It needs to be fundamental to our approach and it needs to extend from me to my customer to my customer’s customer. That’s critical if I’m going to accurately see and understand demand and supply throughout the entire supply chain for my own organization.”
In addition to the need for action within organizations, there’s also a requirement for action in the broader supply chain profession. As the voice of the supply chain profession, PMAC has a clear role to play, according to the association president.
“PMAC needs to recognized as the leader in shaping the competencies of the strategic supply chain profession,” Dye said. “We must ensure that professionals accredited by the association have knowledge, skills and attributes that are relevant to the needs and expectations of the marketplace. That will be of great importance in defining for employers what supply chain professionals can accomplish and what to expect of the profession,” he noted.
“We must ensure that professionals carrying C.P.P. accreditation are outstanding. They must have the skills and knowledge to build and maintain competitive advantage for their organizations. When we reach that state, we will build a mass of superior supply chain management professionals that—based on performance—gain credibility and authority inside their organizations.”
Eckler also told the Symposium there is a troubling lack of education in Canada in supply chain management. Dye agrees and indicated PMAC will look at this matter in the next issue of PMAC Pulse.
Third Annual Supply Chain Symposium update
The symposium, co-sponsored by PMAC, the McMaster eBusiness Research Centre and the Ontario Research Network in Electronic Commerce, was held Sept. 28-30 in Toronto. It attracted more than 80 registrants from 10 countries. Seventeen practitioner papers were presented during the two days as well as 19 academic papers.
The winning practitioner papers were: “Sustainable Supply Practice” by Larry Berglund, C.P.P. – manager of materials management with the City of Vancouver, with honourable mentions to Jon Hansen, president & CEO, E-Procurement, for his presentation on “Reverse Auctions,” and Wayne Burgess, director of Accenture Procurement Solutions for “Subcontracted Services in Canada: A Case Study.”
The winning academic papers were “A Process Model for Fast Fashion Retailers,” by Dr. Grete Birtwistle, Dr. Christopher M. Moore and Laura I-Chun Lung from Glasgow Caledonian University. Honourable mention went to Dr. Eva-Marie Kearn and Dr. Wolfgang Kersten from Hamburg University of Technology for their presentation on “Framework for Internet-Supported Cross-Organizational Product Development Collaboration in Supply Chain.”
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