Editor's note: This column has been adapted from a keynote speech given by Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Chairman Kevin Smith at the Panama Logistics Summit 2016 on March 11, 2016.
Supply chains are global, and supply chain activities are all around us. And yet they are nearly invisible. Most of the world takes what we do for granted. The efficient movement of goods and the seamless, endless supply of food, water, and clothing are simply "expected." In some ways, supply chains are viewed in the same way as public utilities. When you flip the switch on the wall, you expect the lights to come on. When you turn on the tap, you expect water to come streaming out.
It is when things fail to happen as expected that utilities get attention, and so it is with supply chains. The most attention that any of us get from the C-suite is on those rare occasions when things don't go exactly right. In fact, if I learned only one thing in over 40 years in this industry, it is that we get people's attention most when things do not go as planned. But ours is an industry of risk, resilience, and recovery as much as it is one of planning and execution. We are operators, but we are also problem solvers.
And make no mistake—supply chains are also critical enablers of the world's economies. The ability to source raw materials, convert those materials into a desirable product, move them close to a specific market, and supply the end consumer at an acceptable price is the key to success in commercial markets. To be able to source, make, move, and sell products in the right quantities, at the right time, in the right place, and at the right price is magic in itself. Businesses love magic!
Contributions to top and bottom lines
This is never more apparent than in an economic downturn. In the years after 2008, now referred to as "the Great Recession," supply chains were often quietly recognized as the saviors of companies because of their ability to contribute to both the top and bottom lines of the balance sheet.
Supply chains are able to contribute to the top line primarily through carefully cultivated relationships with commercial partners. Suppliers and their customers are not merely connected by sales people and buyers. Some of the most complex and robust connections between companies exist in the supply chain arena where, day in and day out, logistics professionals orchestrate the never-ending flow of goods between partners. Not surprisingly, when times get tough, many buying decisions are made based on how easy it is to deal with a supplier. Good collaborators often become the default supplier of choice. That is how the supply chain can influence the top line.
On the bottom line, supply chain managers are among the best at saving money and reducing operating costs. It is what we do. And simply put, a dollar saved on the bottom line is worth a dollar in profit—one for one. In a business with a 33 percent margin you must sell $3 worth of goods to produce $1 in profit. In a strained economy, the ability to save money on the bottom line and preserve revenue on the top line is a marvelous feat.
A career in the supply chain industry is one of the most important and rewarding callings that exist. Supply chains are the secret operations that make the world a better place. Supply chains improve the standard of living around the world. More food reaches the table in an edible condition and less goes to waste because of supply chains. More potable water is available because of sustainable practices brought forward by supply chains. Electricity and fuels are more readily available because of the efforts put forth by supply chains. Supply chains quietly, but absolutely, affect people's lives.
I didn't know any of this when I started working over 40 years ago. It took me an incredibly long time to come to the realization that what we do is critical to the welfare of the planet's 7 billion-plus human beings and vital to the economies of the world's nearly 200 countries.
Logistics activities in the United States alone were valued at US$1.45 trillion and accounted for 8.3 percent of nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014, according to last year's CSCMP State of Logistics Report. And, the reality is that the balance of GDP is totally dependent on supply chains to move and deliver goods and services to consumers. So, is supply chain management important? Is what we do important? You bet it is!
How CSCMP supports career development
CSCMP is committed to providing supply chain professionals with assistance throughout their careers. We facilitate connections between our members and other supply chain professionals who can help solve problems or offer advice. CSCMP provides educational opportunities and programs to develop specific skills and expertise. We have an aggressive "lifecycle" objective at CSCMP to provide career advice and assistance to supply chain professionals when they are students, young professionals, mid-career practitioners, senior leaders, and, finally, like me, senior fellows. I like say that we want to involve and serve people in supply chain from "dorm living to assisted living."
CSCMP can achieve this goal. Through general educational offerings, customized programs for member companies, research, white papers, and mentoring opportunities, CSCMP has something for everyone at every stage of his or her career. If you are already a member of CSCMP, thank you. If you are not, I hope that you will become a member soon and begin taking advantage of the benefits that come with membership.
I'm looking forward to the great things ahead of us as an industry. I also believe that CSCMP can be a catalyst to help build supply chain careers and continue to make our world a better place in which to live.
We may be living in a world full of technology, but strategy and focus remain the top priorities when it comes to managing a business and its supply chains. So says Roberto Isaias, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer for toy manufacturing and entertainment company Mattel.
Isaias emphasized the point during his keynote presentation on day two of EDGE 2024, a supply chain conference sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), being held in Nashville this week. He described Mattel’s journey to transform its business and its supply chain amid surging demand for Barbie-branded items following the success of the Barbie movie last year.
Isaias discussed the transformation on two fronts: Commercially, through the revitalization of its brands that began years ago, and logistically, through a supply chain strategy focused on effectiveness and cost leadership.
Today, Mattel makes millions of toys and is steadily moving beyond the toy aisle with its franchise mindset, becoming a major entertainment company as well. Isaias told the audience Mattel currently has two films in production and 14 others in development, and its television studios business has 13 series’ in production with more than 35 in development.
And as for those supply chain gains? The company has saved millions, increased productivity, and improved profit margins—even amid cost increases and inflation. For the full story on Mattel’s transformation, see our feature story from this past summer.
And Isaias left the EDGE audience with five lessons he learned from his experience in leading change:
The business is our boss;
Don’t delegate complexity;
Take bad news well;
Be fair and take care of people;
Lead the execution.
CSCMP’s EDGE 2024 conference runs through Wednesday, October 2, at Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center.
Confronted with the closed ports, most companies can either route their imports to standard East Coast destinations and wait for the strike to clear, or else re-route those containers to West Coast sites, incurring a three week delay for extra sailing time plus another week required to truck those goods back east, Ron said in an interview at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)’s EDGE Conference in Nashville.
However, Uber Freight says its latest platform updates offer a series of mitigation options, including alternative routings, pre-booked allocation and volume during peak season, and providing daily visibility reports on shipments impacted by routings via U.S. east and gulf coast ports. And Ron said the company can also leverage its pool of some 2.3 million truck drivers who have downloaded its smartphone app, targeting them with freight hauling opportunities in the affected regions by pricing those loads “appropriately” through its surge-pricing model.
“If this [strike] continues a month, we will see severe disruptions,” Ron said. “So we can offer them alternatives. We say, if one door is closed, we can open another door? But even with that, there are no magic solutions.”
Turning around a failing warehouse operation demands a similar methodology to how emergency room doctors triage troubled patients at the hospital, a speaker said today in a session at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)’s EDGE Conference in Nashville.
There are many reasons that a warehouse might start to miss its targets, such as a sudden volume increase or a new IT system implementation gone wrong, said Adri McCaskill, general manager for iPlan’s Warehouse Management business unit. But whatever the cause, the basic rescue strategy is the same: “Just like medicine, you do triage,” she said. “The most life-threatening problem we try to solve first. And only then, once we’ve stopped the bleeding, we can move on.”
In McCaskill’s comparison, just as a doctor might have to break some ribs through energetic CPR to get a patient’s heart beating again, a failing warehouse might need to recover by “breaking some ribs” in a business sense, such as making management changes or stock write-downs.
Once the business has made some stopgap solutions to “stop the bleeding,” it can proceed to a disciplined recovery, she said. And to reach their final goal, managers can use the classic tools of people, process, and technology to improve what she called the three most important key performance indicators (KPIs): on time in full (OTIF), inventory accuracy, and staff turnover.
CSCMP EDGE attendees gathered Tuesday afternoon for an update and outlook on the truckload (TL) market, which is on the upswing following the longest down cycle in recorded history. Kevin Adamik of RXO (formerly Coyote Logistics), offered an overview of truckload market cycles, highlighting major trends from the recent freight recession and providing an update on where the TL cycle is now.
EDGE 2024, sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), is taking place this week in Nashville.
Citing data from the Coyote Curve index (which measures year-over-year changes in spot market rates) and other sources, Adamik outlined the dynamics of the TL market. He explained that the last cycle—which lasted from about 2019 to 2024—was longer than the typical three to four-year market cycle, marked by volatile conditions spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic. That cycle is behind us now, he said, adding that the market has reached equilibrium and is headed toward an inflationary environment.
Adamik also told attendees that he expects the new TL cycle to be marked by far less volatility, with a return to more typical conditions. And he offered a slate of supply and demand trends to note as the industry moves into the new cycle.
Supply trends include:
Carrier operating authorities are declining;
Employment in the trucking industry is declining;
Private fleets have expanded, but the expansion has stopped;
Truckload orders are falling.
Demand trends include:
Consumer spending is stable, but is still more service-centric and less goods-intensive;
After a steep decline, imports are on the rise;
Freight volumes have been sluggish but are showing signs of life.
CSCMP EDGE runs through Wednesday, October 2, at Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Resort.
The relationship between shippers and third-party logistics services providers (3PLs) is at the core of successful supply chain management—so getting that relationship right is vital. A panel of industry experts from both sides of the aisle weighed in on what it takes to create strong 3PL/shipper partnerships on day two of the CSCMP EDGE conference, being held this week in Nashville.
Trust, empathy, and transparency ranked high on the list of key elements required for success in all aspects of the partnership, but there are some specifics for each step of the journey. The panel recommended a handful of actions that should take place early on, including:
Establish relationships.
For 3PLs, understand and get to the heart of the shipper’s data.
Also for 3PLs: Understand the shipper’s reason for outsourcing to a 3PL, along with the shipper’s ultimate goals.
Understand company cultures and be sure they align.
Nurture long-term relationships with good communication.
For shippers, be transparent so that the 3PL fully understands your business.
And there are also some “non-negotiables” when it comes to managing the relationship:
3PLs must demonstrate their commitment to engaging with the shipper’s personnel.
3PLs must also demonstrate their commitment to process discipline, continuous improvement, and innovation.
Shippers should ensure that they understand the 3PL’s demonstrated implementation capabilities—ask to visit established clients.
Trust—which takes longer to establish than both sides may expect.
EDGE 2024 is sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and runs through Wednesday, October 2, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville.