Why Have Supply Chain Management Issues Often Been Ignored by Senior Management?

I also believe that if a company is doing pretty good, sales wise, then they don’t seem to worry about the supply chain, as much. They automatically assume that the supply chain is working great the way it is and leave it alone. Basically, the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality is what some senior leaders have come to embrace. There is nothing wrong with that mentality. Most people understand that concept, but if they want their company to grow even bigger, the senior management need to take a look at their supply chain management and see if there are areas they may be able to improve on.

By listening to their lower-level management and hearing out what even some of the factory workers may have to say, could help senior management really understand the ins and outs of supply chain management and how it could be holding their company back. If there is no reason to “interfere” with the day to day operations of their supply chain, then I can see why they wouldn’t. I think what it really comes down to is that they may not fully understand the inner workings of their supply chain.

It would be a good idea to actually sit down with their management team that runs the supply chain and have them explain the process, to better fully understand the “how’s” and “why’s” of what happens at the supply chain worker level. Describe the strategy you would employ to sell senior management on the benefits of focusing more attention on supply chain management If I were the Supply Chain Manager at a company, I would put some charts together, showing just how much money could be saved by focusing a little more on the logistics of the supply chain.

I believe that you can talk to someone all day long about what you can do for them or how you can save them money, but if you show them, on paper, they can have a visual and understand it more. I, myself, am a visual learner and find that even when I am trying to sell a recruit on the U. S. Air Force, it helps immensely to show them why they should join with fact sheets and pictures. Another good approach is to use similar businesses supply chain practices and compare them to how our business is doing. Some of the newer companies using the newer technology can offer the before and after product.

You can use that comparison to sell your leadership on why it works and have the proof in front of you. I would focus on the inner workings of the supply chain, not just transportation costs. That seems to be the cost most senior managers are worried about when thinking about how to save money. Process improvement is another big area of concern for them, as well. But, those aren’t the only areas that need attention. That’s where education the senior managers comes into play. Discuss the benefits that might be gained from working closely with 3PLs, 4PLs and vendors in promoting supply chain management initiatives to senior management?

Working with 3PLs or 4PLs, could very well be beneficial to the company. Any outside logistics service providers would be a great addition, because it’s an outside source looking at your process. They usually have quite a bit of experience with numerous other companies and have a lot of valuable input. They will already have data and information from other companies, that they have worked with, to compare with and they can give better explanations to any doubters within the senior management team by using facts to crush any thoughts.