A few days ago in a post about maveric spend was expanded by a great comment from Jon Hansen of Procurement Insights that explored the concept of agent-based Metaprise models that would allow companies to increase supply chain flexibility without losing control or focus.
To expand on the subject without going to deep I believe that the new normal/post-recession economy that we are experiencing today is simply too fast paced to be managed and governed by processes that worked in the past. I plan to dive deeper into these subjects in the near future – as well as looking at what really constitutes as usability – but let me leave you with a quote from William Fung, head of the Hong Kong trading company Li & Fung Ltd, in a few sentences he neatly sums up some of the challanges that supply chain professionals are facing today:
“…the supply chain continues to become more mobile all the time. Today, a supply chain that produces an item in November may look completely different from one that produces it four months later. Price and speed and raw materials all have an impact. The cheapest way I know to produce a men’s shirt now [February 3, 2010 - my comment] is to get fabric from certain parts of China, ship it to Bangladesh, and make the shirt there; it may be ready for the fall season. But if that style really started to sell well and you wanted to reorder in January for February or March delivery, I would take the same fabric and make it in Shanghai, more expensively but more quickly and reliably.”
The full interview with Mr. Fung is available at strategy+business, it’s a highly recommended read that highlights really how fast-paced global business can be today (and in the future).
