ONE OF THE MORE RESPECTED DISCUSSION FORA (NO, that is not an oxymoron, and is the plural of a much-maligned noun) recently trumpeted an uncertain clarion call indicating that the procurement function was “taking over” supply chain management.

Never mind that the claim is not helpful in maintaining our fragile peer relationships within the chain(s); it is also wrong-headed. This should not be surprising, as consultants may have been involved in the background,

and some are easily swayed by the wisdom of

26-year-old savants.

Climbing down from the aerie of high dudgeon, we are dismayed that it is apparently amazingly easy to either forget or ignore the core directions of changed relationships within both supply chain and corporate functions as we plunge deeper into the 21st century.

THE EMERGING BIGGER PICTURE …

We have written, often and enthusiastically, about the evolution away from last-century organizational paradigms. In short, the old model of operations management was often either led or controlled by an old-school executive, whose value was measured in the number of his (less often, her) direct reports and the number of functional departments making up his stable of skills and results. A popular management style was to pit departmental executives against one another in competition for budget money, capital, and positions as heirs-apparent. Performance targets were typically inwardly focused. Not only were they unaligned with one another for collective outcomes, but they were frequently in direct opposition, creating win-lose (or lose-lose) opportunities at almost every turn.

In the new century, we are seeing the beginnings of a sea change. The top executive in a supply chain management environment is no longer yesterday’s operational lion tamer, with chair, whip, and pistol at the ready. He (and more often than ever before, she) is a facilitator and a builder, who fosters close positive working relationships within the chain and within the company. The idea is not internal competition; it is collaboration,

BY ART VAN BODEGRAVEN AND KENNETH B. ACKERMAN basictraining

Weak links, strong links: Who is
taking over the supply chain?

synchronized execution, common and aligned performance targets, and a focus on enterprise success based on serving customer needs perfectly, even spectacularly.

We are moving away from the adversarial oper-
ations management model and toward the positive
and integrated supply chain model. The direction
is clear, but the pace of change is sometimes tenta-
tive. Both models will be around
in parallel for some time.
Obviously, though, both
models cannot exist side by
side within a single organiza-
tion without introducing very
stressful cognitive dissonance
and creating an umbrella of dys-
function. Equally obviously, in
an age of external collaboration
with suppliers and customers,
internal collaboration is a must,
a prerequisite. So, what are these
people thinking when they glee-
fully salute a takeover within the realm of supply
chain management?

THE ROLE OF ENLIGHTENED PROCUREMENT We’ve written, too, about the necessity of including sourcing and procurement as part of end-to-end holistic supply chain organizations. It is vital to include, integrate, and synchronize what those folks do in creating profitable customer relationships and creating shareholder value. But “supply” is not “supply chain”—there are more pieces to the puzzle, and this news can stun those who think the universe begins and ends with good procurement practices.