Download creating a proactive organization through a cohesive supply chain

CREATING A PROACTIVE ORGANIZATION
THROUGH A COHESIVE SUPPLY CHAIN
By Mansukh Singh
INTRODUCTION
Many organizations around the world have been facing increased incidents of
poor customer service because of loosely connected supply chains. For
instance, if a customer makes a modification to a schedule or order, the
organizational supply chain acts in a reactive manner rather than a proactive
one. The changes are reflected along the length of the supply chain but since
its various elements are not integrated adequately, the results are high levels
of customer dis-satisfaction with seemingly higher response times to these
changing demands.
KEY FACTS
The three main areas where there is a need for improvement are customer
service (order management), planning/scheduling (production order and
The goal can be achieved by bringing about changes in the
Planning/Scheduling, Procurement, Human Resources, Customer
Service and the overall Supply Chain. The Planning/Scheduling should
be highly efficient with minimum delays. The Procurement strategy
should have a fast and responsive purchase to pay process in place.
Employee satisfaction should be kept high and further areas of
opportunity and improvements should be identified,
control) and procurement. Inadequate coordination among these areas is
leading to a lack of communication and integration in the end-to-end supply chain,
leading to poor communication with customers and missed delivery commitments.
Also, additional effort resulting from the lack of coordination is taking employees’
time and resources, leading to lower levels of efficiency and job satisfaction.
PURPOSE
The objective of improved customer service operations can be achieved through
improvements in interdepartmental communication and coordination; reduction in
the non-value-added activities of the employees; and enhancements to the
customer order process from order to shipment. Standardization, optimization, and
placement are factors to be considered in streamlining processes that affect
customer service. In addition to this, the focus should also be on the people so that
their competencies are identified to support the organizational change.