Generate Value Throughout the Entire Supply Chain Enterprise
Introduction
Since the introduction of an industrial-based economy, all sectors of industry have strived to improve productivity.
The Industrial Revolution was, as its name suggests, a true revolution, replacing the craftsmen with sophisticated tools and machinery. Companies in all market sectors have been intent on improving their performances year after year in the same way that athletes manage to establish new world records at every major sporting event. The mission for “lean and mean” continues and since the 1950s has followed the Japanese model embracing such supply chain methodologies as Total Quality Management (TQM), Kaizen, Just-in-Time (JIT) Inventory, Value Stream Mapping and Six Sigma–just to name a few. However, the “lean machine” in any factory may not necessarily satisfy the customer’s desires for the value for money, quality of products and services, responsiveness of the suppliers and support from cradle to the grave. So, what is being demanded of world-class companies in the 21st Century is the delicate balance of being efficient (lean), responding rapidly to changing customer needs and market forces (agile) and producing quality products from quality processes (Six Sigma).
The adoption of supply chain methodologies, such as lean, agile and Six Sigma concepts, is generally focused on the shop floor, but this is only the tip of the value iceberg (refer to Figure 1). To uncover the hidden, but massive, value potential, it is imperative that these supply chain methodologies are extended beyond the manufacturing plant to include all critical processes within and between each stage of the supply chain network: exporter, importer, ports, freight forwarder, vendor, manufacturer, distributor, retailer and customer. The real value of a lean and agile transformation is outside the factory walls.
