Supply Chain Senses Must Constantly Be On High Alert!

Supply Chain Senses

The job of a Supply Chain professional never stops. When things seem to be going smoothly there is always another problem looming around the corner. As such Supply Chain senses must always be on high alert!

It is not a question of whether a new problem or challenge will occur. It is only a question of when that new problem or challenge will occur. The degree to which your Supply Chain’s senses are honed and ready will determine how quickly and efficiently that problem will be resolved.

Maintaining a Mental Balance

Supply Chain is a stressful profession. Certainly all other professions and activities have there stressful points, but in Supply Chain the stakes are always high and the pressure is always intense.

That’s because when there are problems in Supply Chain the entire operation of a business can come to a complete halt, jeopardizing the very survival of any company. You need look no further than the global Coronavirus pandemic to see the proof of this fact.

Supply Chains failed everywhere. At a minimum businesses stumbled; at worst they disappeared entirely. At length these continuity of supply issues persist and prevail. Again, the stakes are very high.

Because of the immediate and extensive ramifications of Supply Chain problems there is a lot of pressure put on those professionals to get these problems fixed and to get that done fast.

Conversely there are certainly periods of time when things are running smoothly. If these periods last for a long time then there is a risk that the organization will become complacent. This complacency will translate to a lack of readiness and preparedness, and a lack of the necessary adrenaline to deal with the inevitable and eventual problems.

In my experience it is important in Supply Chain to maintain a mental balance. If you get too stressed while problem solving you will fail. If you get too relaxed when things are going well you will become lazy.

Because both scenarios will exist at various points, it is best to maintain a level head and a mental balance. Don’t get too stressed when the pressure is on and don’t get too relaxed when the pressure is off.

Developing and honing that ability to be balanced is key.

The Key Supply Chain Senses

All of your senses must be highly attuned to your environment, the subtle and not-so-subtle signs, and extremely anticipatory. It is not enough to have great systems. You must leverage your senses, your intuition, your forward thinking, and your intellect to give you an edge in seeing problems before anyone else.

Eyes

You need to have the eyes of a hawk. You must be able to see great distances, whether in person or through online media, and spot problems or potential problems.

This includes looking at data and metrics. You must be able to see between the lines and behind the numbers, on the lookout for troublesome trends or incongruities.

Further you must be able to see well beyond your own immediate operations. You must have visibility to all tiers of your entire end to end Supply Chain, from the lowest tier supplier through to the end customer.

Ears

You need to have the ears of a dog or a bat. You need to be listening to what people are saying, to the sounds of a manufacturing line running or a distribution centre operating.

You must know when something doesn’t sound right, and probe further to see if there is a problem underneath, beyond what others perceive.

Touch, Taste and Smell

Whenever I visit a facility I want to go onto the factory floor or into the warehouse. I want to go through the operation in depth, step by step. I am not interested in just doing the cursory “tourist” tour; to me that is a complete waste of time.

You need to touch and feel what is going on. This enables you to first internalize how things are supposed to run, and then secondly to know when things are not running the way they are supposed to. It gives you an incredible edge.

Extra Sensory Perception (ESP)

Finally you must have a 6th sense. Your skills must be trained and developed so acutely that you can see many moves ahead, just like in a chess game. This sense comes with time and experience and from success and from failure.

Proactive and Preemptive Readiness

With your senses on alert, and with the understanding that another problem is just around the corner, the intelligent response is take all measures to be proactive.

Developing contingency plans, dual and alternate sources, disaster recovery plans, and more are all measures that you can take preemptively to create much more robust and resilient Supply Chains. This robustness will help to mitigate the impact of any future problem and the time to resolution.

With your senses at attention you are sensitized to indicators or trends that suggest another problem is around the corner. This sensitivity can enable you to act in advance, or certainly quickly, because of your anticipatory readiness.

Reactive and Responsive Containment

But no matter how well you prepare, or how robust your Supply Chain is, something like a global pandemic will occur which will turn your world upside down.

Leaders will tackle these problems head on and dive right in. Their sensory skill set will be engaged so that they react fast, decisively and intensely. Leaders will keep a cool head, tactically focussed on problem resolution and strategically focussed on further strengthening their Supply Chains for the future.

Conclusion

The skills that a Supply Chain professional needs go far beyond the traditional view of skills. It is more than just formal education, the development of communication skills, computer and systems skills, management and other technical skills.

Professionals must develop and hone their Supply Chain senses, those with which we are naturally blessed but which require conscious refinement, use and continuous improvement.

Originally published on October 18, 2022.