basictraining
with different options: truckload,
less-than-truckload, parcel, or USPS
(and sometimes air). Each requires
the establishment and maintenance
of different sets of relationships
within the supply chain(s).
And it’s more than issues of day-to-day execution; the differences go
back to supply chain planning—and
they are critical. Further, some carrier relationships may be dictated by
customers, which introduces added
sensitivities into what it takes to
make supply chains work effectively.
supply chain planning and exquisitely managed in execution.
As on the outbound side, the
weight, cube, velocity, and timing
requirements of the goods involved
can dictate the use of multiple
modes from one source, and certainly will, when many, many
sources are involved, with a range of
items of greater or lesser importance. The options for bringing in
goods manufactured offshore (even
near-shore) are manifold, with
numerous choices in transport
modes and ports of entry.
Further complicating the notion
of a supply chain is the need to frequently adjust modes and arrival
ports, based on demand shifts, labor
actions, capacity, or onward transport costs.
Those operational details aside,
though, the relative importance of
the supplies involved will—or
should—force the development of
radically different kinds of planning and
working relationships with their suppliers,
which create fundamentally much different
kinds of supply chains. Let’s consider some
of the potential issues.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
Let’s return to the sourcing and supply question that starts the physical
flow of a supply chain (or multiple
supply chains). Strategic sourcing
and procurement are not things that
happen outside of supply chains,
despite what some might think.
Specific sources and products/mate-rials must be integrated into overall
THE MARKET IS MORE THAN JUST
BUYERS AND SELLERS
Well, in certain categories, maybe it isn’t.
Take paper clips, ballpoint pens, sticky
notes, and other ordinaries that are widely
available from several sources at generally
competitive prices. Or commodity ingredients with many of the same price/availabil-ity qualities. Those supply chains—and
supplier relationships—are going to be
about as straightforward as things get.
But things begin to get tricky when, even
for commodity-level goods, the supply
sources are limited. Add to that the possibility for supply interruption, the opportunities for hedging, and the need to maintain the flow of operations. The supplier
relationships, and the transport options (as
well as storage and distribution considerations), take on greater importance.
Add to those the increasing impact of
global demand for parts and materials as
the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China)
economies continue to grow.
Understanding planetwide issues in supply
and demand—and creating relevant supplier relationships and supply chains—is
continuing to distinguish procurement
from simple buying.
BATTERY HANDLING
SOLUTIONS
SINCE 1946
800.433.3110
SHOULD WE GIVE UP NOW?
None of this is to say that the supply chain
world is too complex to effectively plan and
execute. Our professional challenge is to do
just that, and it is a large part of what makes
our professional lives more rewarding than
most.
But it will continue to be vital to understand the richness, diversity, and sheer
number of supply chains that each of us
must deal with on a daily basis. ;
MTCWORLDWIDE.COM
Art van Bodegraven may be reached at (614) 336-0346 or
avan@columbus.rr.com. You can read his blog at
http://blogs.dcvelocity.com/the_art_of_art/. Kenneth B.
Ackerman, president of The Ackerman Company, can be
reached at (614) 488-3165 or ken@warehousing-forum.com.
