Supply chain transformation requires clear strategic vision

Companies with mature supply chains are continuing to transform without hesitation. But companies that have failed to invest in their supply chain for years are struggling. They understand that transformation is necessary, but where should they start? And in which direction should they steer their organization? Four participants in the E2E Supply Chain Ecosystem Transformation Survey share their experiences.
When the pandemic broke out in early 2020, technology company Bosch decided to set up a company-wide supply chain task force. Bart Meers led the team with the aim of proactively addressing bottlenecks and preventing negative impact on customer deliveries. “The first challenge in setting up such a task force is appointing the right people. Not just people from logistics, but also including people from purchasing, production and sales. Preferably generalists who have knowledge across all those three disciplines,” says Meers. Today, he is responsible for logistics and warehousing for the Bosch Group’s BSH Home Appliances division.
The second challenge is equipping the team with the right tools and technologies. “During the pandemic, we were in a better position than our competitors to proactively address bottlenecks. Partly because Bosch could use suppliers’ part numbers to quickly identify which customer orders would be affected by an impending parts shortage,” Meers explains. “In addition, we were able to create one safe source of truth. A single, uniform, reliable source of information is necessary to communicate transparently with all stakeholders and make the right decisions.”
So when is such a task force needed? When answering this, Meers distinguishes between white, grey and black swans. By white swans, he means events that have been announced in advance, such as Brexit or the US elections. “Those are the events we can prepare for and for which we do not need a task force,” Meers states. “In contrast, companies do set up task forces for grey swans: events that we know could happen one day, but which cannot be predicted. Think of pandemics, an earthquake or the escalating conflict in the Middle East. The same goes for black swans: rare events that no one could have foreseen.”… … …
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