supply chains from two different companies.
Over the past several years, we’ve integrated and transformed our global supply chain to simplify processes and
maintain a tight focus on four key performance indicators:
cost, delivery, quality, and cash. We standardized everything
by establishing consistent roles and responsibilities, instituting consistent processes, recording those processes, and
making them highly efficient. And we put the right talent
around the appropriate pieces. We are now highly competitive against all four metrics, having made significant
improvements in each of them since 2006.
Finally, we’ve upgraded our talent levels across the entire
global supply chain organization, bringing in leaders with the
skills and knowledge necessary to build a world-class operation.
QAt Lenovo, you’ve managed to increase customer sat- isfaction while at the same time reducing end-to-end
and material costs. Can you briefly explain how you were
able to accomplish this?
A Our structure has been a key factor in this success. First, we are one of the only supply chain organizations
with total ownership of the end-to-end process, from order
to collection. This enables us to adapt and continuously
improve faster than more fragmented organizations can.
In addition, we’ve organized our global supply chain into
customer-facing teams aligned with our sales organizations. These teams are responsible for making the end-to-end supply chain work for the customer.
Our structure also includes global functional teams in
procurement, manufacturing, and logistics. These teams
ensure that we develop the technical expertise and talent
necessary to be a world-class supply chain and continuous-
ly improve our processes in these critical operational areas.
QWhat’s your greatest professional accomplishment to date and why?
A The professional accomplishment that I’m most proud of is the tremendous progress we’ve made in
transforming Lenovo’s global supply chain. We’ve made our
supply chain a competitive strength for Lenovo. It has been
very rewarding building and leading our talented world-class team and helping Lenovo outperform its major competitors for over two years running. Our supply chain is a
key reason we rose from number four to two in the global
PC industry last year.
QIn general, what’s the biggest challenge facing supply chain professionals today?
A The biggest challenge we face is recruiting and devel- oping world-class talent. The global economy is very
competitive across every industry, and operational excellence
can be an important source of sustainable competitive
advantage if you have a strong team that can drive innovation
and continuous improvement. This demands the best talent.
At Lenovo, we’ve invested heavily in supply chain talent
development over the past several years. We’ve implemented several organizationwide learning programs for high-potential talent and those positions demanding specific
technical skills such as commodity management. We’ve also
expanded general learning programs for the entire team.
Page Siplon
THREE YEARS AGO, PAGE SIPLON DECIDed to roll the dice. Siplon, who is executive
director of the Georgia Center of Innovation
for Logistics, bet his group could successfully launch a state-led, industry-driven annual
logistics summit on a large scale, something
no state had done before.
In 2010, the first full-day Georgia
Logistics Summit attracted 800 attendees. In
2011, it welcomed 1, 100. This past February,
it hosted 1,600 attendees from 28 states and
seven countries. The summit’s scorching popularity was
such that it blew out its previous venues and this year was
moved to the Georgia World Congress Center, the enormous downtown Atlanta facility that hosts some of the
biggest conferences and trade shows in the nation.
The summit is just one component of Georgia’s broader
economic development strategy, in which Siplon’s center plays
a prime role. Siplon’s actual day job is to help logistics-enabled
companies overcome the challenges and capi-
talize on the opportunities related to the move-
ment of freight. Siplon tirelessly advocates for
Georgia’s freight-related trade, transportation,
and logistics interests, and does whatever is
needed to advance the state’s role in U.S. and
global commerce.
QSo how did this thing catch fire so fast?
A The summit is a truly unique event bringing together the entire logistics
ecosystem. The networking opportunity this unique mix creates is a key reason people come to the summit, and we try to
design everything around this networking opportunity.
Second, we try really hard to listen and more importantly, to incorporate what the industry wants to see included in
“their summit.” This input shapes everything … the price,
format, speakers, and even where and when we host it.
