In order to improve one-stop access to information on global supply chain management, with a special focus on Asia, I have created the following customized Google search engines for your convenience:
Blogs on SCM in Asia
News on SCM in Asia
Research on SCM in Asia
This will remain at the top of the page for easy access into the future. Enjoy the new function!
As a Thunderbird alumnus, I like to highlight the successes of other "TBirds" whenever possible. So I was delighted to find that the Wall Street Journal's Career Journal interviewed TBird graduate '98 Mark Zafra as part of their "How I Got There" series (which I recommend following). Even more relevant to this blog, Mark works in the supply chain field.
I recommend reading the interview, but I thought I would just provide my own comments on his answers to "How you can get there, too":
Best Advice:"If you want to be in supply chain, you should learn to be good at negotiations and be able to say 'no' to people that are aggressively trying to sell you things," says Mr. Zafra. "It is also critical that you can work with a variety of levels -- in supply chain you'll often deal with entry level people up to very senior people." My comments: Negotiations are definitely important, not just in purchasing from vendors, but also in working with your customers, both external and internal. To his last point, I agree wholeheartedly--the more comfortable you are in switching from warehouse floor to boardroom and vise versa, the more successful you will be in supply chain management.
Skills you need: Along with technical knowledge of the job, you need "a passion for negotiation and financial analysis and people skills," offers Mr. Zafra. He also recommends working with shipping and receiving employees. My comments: Having worked with shipping and receiving employees in Japan distribution centers, I can't agree more with the recommendation and its value. The appreciation and understanding of the job you gain is invaluable.
Degrees you should go for: If you know you want to work in logistics, consider studying supply chain issues says Mr. Zafra. And, he says, go for a B.A. in business or an M.B.A. with classes in logistics. My comments: Having had an Art major in undergrad, I transitioned at the MBA level--so I have the same recommendation.
Where you should start: Consider a career as a buyer, planner, logistics analyst or a financial analyst, recommends Mr. Zafra. "Supply chain is critical with companies that have a tangible product," says Mr. Zafra. That includes things like computers, clothing, or food. "Manufacturing companies especially need good supply chain people," he says. My comments: Also, it doesn't hurt to consider a supply chain IT vendor like Manhattan Associates as well.
If anyone is interested in Thunderbird, please feel free to write me anytime. I would be happy to share my thoughts on the school.
The Wall Street Journal's Career Journal has a nice article on managing teams dispersed around the world, titled "Managers Learn to Bond with Remote Workers." The article directly relates to my recent writing on global IT deployment. The sub-title gets right to the point in saying that "far-flung employees need close contact and clear objectives."
Just as with the scenario of deploying IT globally, the author Elizabeth Garone makes the valid point that "as more companies expand their efforts away from headquarters, the need for managers to understand how to oversee remote employees is becoming more critical. Increasingly, managers of distant employees need to get up to speed on their own."
As I have explained as part of discussing my global IT deployment framework, Ms. Garone includes a nice quote that emphasizes the importance of having the right approach and combination of tools in keeping a dispersed team in synch (comments in parentheses are mine):
"Communicate each person's role and business objectives regularly, and establish agreed-upon ways to resolve conflicts and solve problems early on (framework and best practices), says Mr. Eicher. Find out how technically savvy your remote employees are -- and get them trained in technologies (tools that enable and help to strengthen the framework) you plan to use to keep in touch, he says. Remote employees should be comfortable with voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP; video streaming; and instant messaging."
The article goes on to expand upon how to strengthen relationships and these suggestions complement and in some circumstances repeat what I have written earlier. Overall, the article clearly illustrates the value of having in place a framework when engaging in a global IT deployment.
I have been sitting on this post for some time as I have been on-site at my client's distribution center, busy with several tasks during the day and working the evenings to synch up with the global team or prepare for the following day. Because this post and the next few are the most important in this series, I wanted to make sure I had some time to sit down and carefully lay out the content I have prepared. Admittedly, I am more deliberate with regards to developing my thoughts and don't mind a delay if I can promise a high quality post.
In previous posts, I have discussed the obvious need for a global IT roll-out template and the ideal approach to take in designing and utilizing the template. In addition, I referred to the example of Development-in-a-Box (DiB) as reflecting the approach and principles I have described as the most appropriate for launching a template across a variety of borders and cultures (let's think in terms of office-specific cultures as well as country-specific cultures). However, an approach and set of principles next needs a framework or an organizing structure that lends itself to a rapid launch on a global scale.
It is common these days in many businesses to think in terms of "modules" in regards to products and processes. Usually, several modules run on the same platform or logic so that users can simply "plug-and-play" as a module is required. For example, a manufacturing company might pull entire modules from several suppliers to plug into the final product. One of my previous employers, Denso, produced an entirely built HVAC module that could be snapped and screwed into vehicles at customers like Toyota and GM. Boeing has been utilizing this approach to build the new 787 Dreamliner, albeit with supply chain design issues. My own company, Manhattan, takes this approach with SCOPE. As long as the underlying platform--framework--is solid, several modules can be developed in parallel while ensuring they can be successfully and efficiently plugged into the end solution--whether it is an automobile, airplane or software package.
My opinion is that the framework for a global IT roll-out template should take on this modular structure but will be rooted in an underlying foundation built on the principles and approach outlined in earlier posts. Simply illustrated, I have created the below diagram to generically outline the framework:
In this diagram, the center pentagon is the foundation upon which the modules will plug into. These modules will be driven by a "community of practice" with similar principles and an adherence to the OODA loop concept. This is the most generic form of the template.
To move beyond this, the next step I would like to make is defining the core modules themselves, including the foundation in a more universally usable manner. When doing this, I referred back to the supply chain architectures outlined by Dr. Cavinato and extensively discussed in my post on the FAR Matrix (Flows-Architectures-Resilience Matrix). Reading that post would not be a waste of time before reading further. However, to quickly refresh memories, the five supply chain architectures are: physical, financial, informational, relational and innovational. As a result, the illustration above takes on the following evolution:
These modules are pieces of the framework that those from any country can relate to and thus allow this framework to bridge easily across borders and cultures towards synchronizing multiple, decentralized implementation teams.
In my next few posts, I will go through each module and further explain their relevance to the global deployment of supply chain technology. I will also discuss the in-module categories where rule-sets could be established in order guide such a deployment, which is typically a longer, strategic initiative. The extended duration of such initiatives naturally means that maintenance of the global design will be strained, and the global team likewise strained. The global IT roll-out template I am putting forth is not only an essential tool in maintaining the core intentions of the global design, but also a tool able to cultivate an environment of innovation, while easing the strain on the global-level project team.
I would be dishonest to say that I am publishing my ideas here from a vacuum where only my own experience in global projects encompasses everything I want to capture in a global IT roll-out template. I trule believe in "The Medici Effect", or the value that stems from creating a space in which people from diverse fields of expertise can get together to exchange ideas, as described over at the Enterprise Resilience Management Blog. One of the reasons I enjoy this forum is the opportunity to engage with many thoughtful and intelligent actors from many different backgrounds. However this global IT roll-out template develops, it will be better off because of this interaction.
When I first did a search online for "global IT roll-out template", I discovered that there are not really any concrete resources online in the public domain and that others out there have similar questions. User "Arno" asks:
Up to now my organisation has used SAP (finance, logistics and HR) in 3 headquarters locations worldwide and a decentralised, homegrown ERP solution (with interfaces to SAP) in 140 odd country locations. The Board has now instructed management to roll-out SAP globally in the next 4 years. Has anyone got some "lessons learned" type info on this? Obviously the notion of dealing with 140 locations, varying quality of networks, 24 timezones, local support (e.g. Sudan, Liberia, etc.), languages, etc. is quite daunting.
Ironically, this is posted in ITToolbox for SAP users, a neat online community designed to amplify the Medici Effect from my first impressions, and a nifty tool that Arno should be keen to deploy internally within his company for their global deployment. His question has received some good insights and tips in approaching a global IT roll-out, but nothing at the template level. At other websites, I have found case studies or presentations that scratch the surface of the challenges involved and the basic approaches required in a successful global deployment. However, these sources do not detail or illustrate the tangible practices and tools that managers on the ground can immediately put in place to successfully execute locally or regionally what is demanded of them globally.
For reference in seeing how a template is outlined conceptually and being put into practice as we speak, we only need to go back to the Enterprise Resilience Management Blog. In September of last year, Tom Barnett and Steve DeAngelis formally presented their Development-in-a-Box (DiB) concept, the principles behind it, and the how the template for its deployment would be shaped. I had bookmarked the post some time ago without reading it, knowing I would someday go back and digest its value. As I read it this very moment for the first time, many words reflect what I have mentioned in my previous posts on a global template, and perhaps illustrates the influence Tom and Steve's work and the work of their blog friends have had on my thinking.
Because the deployment of DiB across borders would itself involve a global IT roll-out, the way Barnett and DeAngelis describe their own template has great value in this discussion. Below are the excerpts I find most relevant:
The next pieces really hone in on the dynamics a global IT roll-out template should produce. I have purposely highlighted "community of practice" and "critical feedback loop", which for my purposes would equate with a community of implementation teams across the globe and the OODA loop respectively:
In fact, we could probably say that the DiB concept is in itself a global template for the roll-out of development activities across borders. Thus, foundationally, any global template for the roll-out of supply chain technology should seek to emulate the DiB principles to the degree that they are tested and successful where the rubber meets the road. Based on my experience in global projects so far, my intuition is that DiB values are values that the global IT roll-out template I hope to develop here should internalize.
In my last post I discussed the tone to set in rolling out supply chain technology on a global scale, that the implementation team must have an ingrained sense of the OODA loop in order to develop and build roll-out momentum that is positive and successful. Although the global design that the technology will conform to and the global leadership that initiates the global design must essentially remain consistent, at the regional or local level implementation teams and their traditional methods of operation will vary widely. This is true for both the vendor and client, and I believe an ingrained OODA loop discipline builds bridges to bring these regional or local pieces into synch as a global technology deployment progresses.
In order to create the right tools for a global IT roll-out template, the team developing such a template must take to heart three key principles:
Anyone who has worked on global projects likely understands these principles and has probably either met a local manager who assumes the global team has the wrong approach for their country or perhaps a global manager who assumes the local team works by the same practices established in headquarters.
It is virtually impossible to avoid making assumptions, but an ingrained sense of the OODA loop allows us to catch ourselves making the most detrimental assumptions. Most importantly, the global implementation team is responsible for doing the due diligence required to sufficiently understand the local or regional environment and be able to bridge the local or regional implementation teams to the global template. At this point, the local or regional implementation teams are responsible for maintaining this alignment with the global template and, as a result, the global design and implementation strategy.
Since problems will most certainly arise if this alignment is not in place by the time the roll-out project is kicked-off locally or regionally, the global team must be proactive in providing the information and tools necessary weeks in advance of any local or regional interaction with the client. Likewise, the local or regional leadership must never make assumptions regarding the project prior to synch-up with the global team. I can confidently say from experience that failure to do the above will result in issues that, although not necessarily irreversable, will negatively impact the roll-out and the teams' views of each other in advancing forward.
The pieces I will talk about in future posts--rule sets and implementation tools--are the pieces that both govern the development of an OODA loop-driven mindset and allow implementation teams around the globe to successfully work from a global IT roll-out template. But it is important to remember that going into a global roll-out with the wrong set of principles will make rules and tools meaningless.
When working on a project of this nature for the first time, where a multinational company is deploying a supply chain technology solution across its sites around the globe, hindsight is always 20/20. It is easy to say, in reflection, what should have happened to make everything run smoothly. The harder work involves turning lessons learned into new methodologies that can be utilized in future activities so as to not repeat the same mistakes.
The process of recognizing mistakes, developing lessons learned, designing new methodologies and putting these methodologies into action provides an ongoing evolution of rule sets upon which to base a successful deployment of supply chain technology across borders. There are plenty of precendents to model this process against; specifically, there is significant research and discussion on the OODA Loop.
This concept was developed and formulated by Colonel John Boyd. In a paper online, Fred Thompson describes this concept in simple terms as follows:
The first of these steps is observation. Rivals start by observing their positions, the environment, and their opponents. Next, on the basis of observation, each orients itself to the situation and then decides on a course of action. Finally, each puts the decision into effect; that is, it acts. It checks to see if its action has changed the situation, and the series of steps or cycle starts anew (see Figure 1).
This process is neither sequential nor finite--it is a dynamic process that has been elaborated upon by many authors, from different perspectives:
In this blog, I don't like to dive deep into theories beyond making reference to them in detailing their applications and use in real-life scenarios that will make sense to, for example, technology implementation managers. The key here is that the OODA concept can act as the foundational approach to a global IT deployment; it should be ingrained so deeply in the minds of the implementation team that it drives subconsciously the continuous improvement and adaptability of strategy and tactics throughout every phase of a project--sales to support, support to upgrades, upgrades to support and so on. This is essential to all ongoing workstreams, such as procurement of hardware, hiring of human resources, building of infrastructure, etc., throughout the entire deployment, and more importantly, across borders. Where this foundation has been absent, problems and issues will certainly abound.
The more implementation managers ingrain this process into an implementation team, the better quality of rule sets the team will produce towards establishing a dynamic and workable global template. Such a template would not lock an implementation team into a fixed set of practices--rather, it would contain an always evolving set of best practices geared towards enhancing OODA Loop and empowering the full talents and capabilities of the implementation team.
My hope is to use future posts in order to capture the tools and methodologies that could be built into a global template for the deployment of supply chain technology across borders.
I was catching up on recent posts over at the Enterprise Resilience Blog and saw that Stephen DeAngelis has written on South Africa's growing troubles with supplying electricity to the country.
Since I just spent two months there from the end of October through the middle of December, I had the (unfortunate) experience of not only sitting through a few blackouts but also had the chance to gain some perspective on how the country has changed the past 14 years from the people I worked with--mostly white South Africans--as they still represent the majority of working professionals and business management.
Basically, it is not just about the electricity that you hear complaints--corruption in the government is rampant, with investigations and scandals plaguing the police, the courts, and the government. The radio stations every morning are often making fun of the government and its incompetency.
My white South African friends told me that the old government used to put forth 10-year plans for the development of the country which aided in the country's significant growth and economic rise versus the rest of Africa. However, as most of us know, that same country was tainted by apartheid.
When apartheid ended, and the multiracial government took over, it began to often reject any symbols or practices of the former government and continues to do so today, down to the fight songs sung at rugby matches. One of the casualties was the planning and execution discipline of the former government.
Mr. DeAngelis comments on the entire article, but this section stands out for me:
The government of South Africa has known for nearly a decade that this day was coming. It didn't ignore the problem, but it was unsuccessful in enticing private businesses to built new power plants. In the meantime, it delayed any new construction projects by Eskom. When the green light for new projects was finally given, it was too late to prevent the shortages they are now experiencing. The result is growing frustration and slowed development.
"South Africans are appalled by the daily interruptions to their lives. Workers sit idle, televisions flick into darkness and silence, elevators stall between floors, gas stations cannot pump, cakes remain forever half-baked. Every intersection with disabled traffic lights becomes a four-way stop, with drivers in each direction maddeningly delayed as the endless lines of cars inch forward."
South Africa is a beautiful country and I could see it and its people yearning to develop and enjoy the benefits of advances in industry and technology. However, its government's leaders as a whole are still inexperienced as leaders and will have to learn from their mistakes and adapt to the essential responsibilities of government.
The government also has to teach the poor population how to earn a higher standard of living not through entitlements and hand-outs but through hard work, education and entrepreneurship. For example, one affirmative action quota in South Africa asks for at least one black South African to be present on every corporate board in the country. In an investigation of this program, one woman was found to be on 26 different boards alone and with very little or no contribution. This kind of scenario helps neither the boards integrate the mostly black poor population nor does it help educate and develop black leaders that could contribute positively to the corporate environment.
There are obviously positive stories as well where poor South African blacks have succeeded in acquiring an education or in becoming an entrepreneur, but it is no wonder my South African friends are betting against the government in the lead-up to the World Cup in 2010. They are betting that somehow the government is going to screw everything up, and having listened to the radio each morning on the way to work, I can't say I left South Africa without any doubt in the country's future success.
My hope is that the government finds its way so that the next time I am back in South Africa I won't be left in the dark.
I am currently acting as project manager/local design lead for the Japan phase of a clients' global roll-out of WMOS, Manhattan's world leading software package for warehouse management. Being the third site of the total roll-out, I feel the whole implementation is like a cattle drive across the American plains. You start off with a decent sized herd, get it disciplined and moving at the right pace. But along the way you are tasked with integrating smaller herds of all sorts, and it strains your ranch hands as you try to keep the new pieces together with the old. You try to use any standard methods you established at the beginning, but there are inevitable gaps along the way. Some locals don't care for you too much; pitfalls are just around the corner ready to throw a monkeywrench into your operation. In the end, it's the team and their experience that keeps the herd together, moving toward its destination. I am basically a ranch hand helping integrate a new herd in my area, but going onto my next task after the whole herd moves on to new country...
Over the next few days, weeks, or months I plan to share some ground-level perspective on the execution of a global IT roll-out and my goal is to utilize these captured thoughts towards the creation of an ideal global, roll-out framework that can be used for any client. Because I still have much to learn in this regards, I look forward to pulling references from various sources to synthesize and further develop such a model.
Tonight I enjoyed a nice Korean dinner in the heart of Korea Town in Tokyo. On the way out with my co-worker and his wife, we quickly realized it was snowing. Unlike other winters I remember in Tokyo, this is the first time I have seen it snow so regularly. On the way home, I had to trudge through the slush and thought not only of the effects on transportation but also on the markets that rely on milder Tokyo winters, such as the cold beverage industry. Being that my previous company specializes in domestic transportation for Coca-Cola products and raw materials, I have a feeling that this winter will slow inventory turnover further and result in lower revenues for both companies.
Of course, this is nothing compared to what has hit China, and the guys over at 3PLWire have a great post from last week to sum up the impact as it stands currently, and also provide some pointers on remaining resilient in the face of such adversity. It is always great insight to hear directly from the ground, so thanks to 3PLWire for passing on such communication.
As for whether this is a freak winter or not, I came across a post by the gents at Powerline regarding the topic of global warming, now often called global climate change as advocates of a more urgent response look to be hedging their bets on whether the weather will get warmer or colder. As Powerline points out, we may be seeing a cooling that is directly correlated with a 'quiet' trend in sunspot activity. If the research they point to is correct, we could be in the beginning of a longer cooling period of close to a century in length. In that case, supply chain planners are in for quite a few more years of increased snowfall in areas normally just south of it and the resulting effects on supply chain performance.
It can't hurt to start integrating the experience from this year into scenario planning and advanced preparation for the future.
Many of the issues I touched on in my three-part series on changes occurring in Japanese business almost a year and a half ago are discussed again in the Economist as part of larger series on Japan. It was brought to my attention through a post over at Tom Barnett's site. Many of my comments were first echoed in the International Herald Tribune. The fact that they are now covered in the Economist is a nice, additional validation that the trends I have seen while on the ground here in Japan are not isolated to my own experience.
Reading my posts and the articles and writing at the links above will give you a very good understanding of the transition Japan is currently going through.
