The Role of Distributed Collaborative Systems in Supply Chain Management
John W. Merrihew
Applied Systems Intelligence, Inc.
Supply Chain Collaboration – Hype and Reality
Over the past several years, it has become clear that companies must develop effective strategies and techniques for supply chain collaboration if they want to stay on the competitive map. This has at last become accepted as a truism, so this article will not cover the innumerable benefits that make supply chain collaboration a sound, financially advantageous strategy/investment.
However, the process of achieving and maintaining a successful collaborative trading environment is not easy. That's why supply chain collaboration generally does not seem, to many industry professionals, to be living up to its "hype." Manufacturers have encountered several obstacles, including:
- No common understanding – Trading partners have different definitions of the word collaboration, and expect to achieve different goals as a result of their collaborative efforts and expenditures.
- Where do we start? – This question paralyzes companies with disturbing regularity.
- Chain-wide buy-in – It is difficult to convince the entire relevant supply network that the effort and expense required to build a collaborative infrastructure will generate an ROI for everyone involved. "What's in it for me?" This is a common question that often goes unasked.
Trust issues – "If I give you my proprietary information, you will use it against me in some way." This old-school mentality still infects the manufacturing community.
- Poor technology – Systems are still centralized, unintelligent, inefficient and unreliable.
The Gap Between Planning and Execution
Multiple generations of MRP systems have gone a long way towards refining the supply chain planning process. But, as they say in the military, "…the first casualty of war is the plan." Manufacturers must adapt quickly and deftly to varying operational conditions while executing their plans to the best of their ability.
