IS YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN IN A DEATH SPIRAL ?

So , if your supply chain is in a death spiral there is a way out , but as the report identifies , “ breaking free requires making bold people , process , culture , and technology changes while embracing continuous improvement and embedding cost-consciousness across the organisation ”. Accenture recommends starting with these fundamentals :

Leverage financial and operational data to achieve complete visibility at a granular level to understand the current state against internal and external practices . This is key to open the gap , define the costs , and prioritise focus to unleash value .

Develop organisational incentives that encourage collaboration across geographies and functions to identify and target opportunities at intersections of the business where best practices and emerging trends are often hidden .

Think outside the box and embrace technology , analytics and sustainability opportunities to set zero quartile goals and thus future-proof the supply chain .

Drive support from the top all the way through the organization . Establish the right communications , incentives , tools and role modelling to make efforts part of the future fabric of the company – a closed loop – and not a one-time event .

As customers demand a diverse range of ways to buy their products the gauntlet is being thrown down to current supply chain models . Many companies have taken Apple ’ s lead but this approach necessitates lean processes to create stability and standardisation . Charles Kunkel , CFO at Harris & Ford LLC , a major chemical distributor in the US , works to improve the firm ’ s global distribution and logistics services to leading Fortune 500 companies in the food , pharmaceutical and industrial sectors . He notes the trend in distribution of a shift towards ZBB . “ Starting from a ‘ zero base ’, every function within an organisation is analysed for its needs and costs ,” he says . “ Last year ’ s results aren ’ t as relevant . It

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