How Mercedes-Benz turned RESEARCH into REALITY
By adopting proven practices from the supply chain literature, a
Mercedes-Benz bus factory in Turkey avoided “reinventing the supply
chain wheel” while making big gains in production and efficiency.
As the year 2008 came to a close, the global econo- my was struggling. Even so, we at the Mercedes- Benz bus plant where I work in Hosdere, near
Istanbul, Turkey, were determined that we would not simply weather the economic downturn but would also
increase production capacity by 30 percent. We knew it
would be a huge challenge because of economic conditions
and the increasingly complex nature of supply chains.
Nevertheless, we went ahead with the project, which ultimately proved successful.
Thanks to the efforts of a logistics task-force team that
Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş. (MBT) formed to tackle that
challenge, the plant was able to meet its goal. The team
achieved success by aligning all logistics operations with
production operations through a project called “Hosdere
2010—New Logistics Concept.” This project applied a concept that can best be described as “evidence-based supply
chain practice” (EBSCP).
Simply put, EBSCP is the incorporation of proven practical or research findings into daily supply chain management practices. It involves taking what has already been discovered—examining best-practice examples and current
research—and then implementing it and enhancing it in
actual practice. This concept facilitates both everyday operational decisions and long-term strategic plans.
By drawing on established knowledge,
EBSCP lets supply chain managers succeed in today’s challenging business environment, and it prevents mistakes stemming from inexperience or individual
preferences. Critical to its success is
employing people with appropriate skills
and knowledge.
EBSCP allows supply chain managers to avoid the kind of
“crash tests” companies often undergo when implementing
new initiatives in complex, intertwined supply chains.
Rather than innovate without guidance, they can take
advantage of widely available information. For example,
they can learn from journal articles and books published by
supply chain researchers around the world who are rigorously working to establish principles and find solutions for
problems. They can also learn from practitioners who share
their experiences through case studies in journals and business publications, as well as through other means, such as
professional associations and professional networking sites
on the Internet.
In short, with so many complex challenges facing supply
chain practitioners today, it makes sense to learn from and
take advantage of already published, tested information and
solutions to problems. By doing so, companies will
