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Choosing the Right IT System for Supply Chain Management
Exploring
the complexities and alternatives in supply chain IT systems,
emphasizing the benefits of intuitive solutions over large, costly
implementations.
by Bernard Milian
When
you’re looking for IT systems to manage your supply chain,
chances are you’ll be directed toward large, complex, and
expensive systems.
This trend dates back to the advent of ERPs in the 90s and is
self-sustaining for an entire industry. If a system – an ERP, for
example – is complex, it will require a whole network of
integrators and consultants to implement it, upgrade it, train users
and support them, and so on.
So, if you’re a consultant in a large consulting firm, it’s
in your best interest to recommend that the companies you work with opt
for a large, complex system, because your job as a consultant involves
selling consulting days. It’s human nature.
Some solutions are ideal for generating consulting days –
I’m thinking, for example, of a solution from the world of
finance, which involves the development of customized models for each
company, and which has successfully developed a considerable volume of
business for its partner consulting firms. Irrespective of the quality
of the solution, in many cases we may well question the relevance of
inventing, developing, and maintaining a customized model that
reinvents the wheel.
In the field of supply chain planning, there are many complex and
costly systems. If you don’t know what I’m talking about,
you’ll easily find them in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™
for Supply Chain Planning Solutions.
At conferences we have attended, feedback on the implementation of some
of these solutions has been reported… just the implementation,
not the results achieved. A recent example from a well-known solution
celebrated the successful implementation of the demand planning process
within a year. Supply planning was scheduled for the following year.
Because of their complexity and the need for intensive support,
implementing these solutions is very similar to implementing an ERP
system – with similar costs and risks!
Isn’t this the antithesis of the need for agility that companies are facing?
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Demand Planning solution
developed by SKU Science, now integrated into Intuiflow, was initially
designed for autonomous implementation by end-customers, without any
consulting intervention – in one or two months, users are fully
operational. This calls for the development of a solution that masks
the underlying complexity and is intuitive so that users can get up and
running quickly.
We have several customers – major international corporations
– who have autonomously deployed Intuiflow on dozens of
industrial and distribution sites, with a small internal deployment
team – typically 2 to 4 people – for project durations of 3
to 6 months for each site.
Our development efforts contribute to this ease of implementation
– “auto-pilot” functionalities facilitate inventory
sizing, without the need for data scientists. The integrated Power BI
platform provides immediate end-to-end supply chain visibility, without
the need for costly and time-consuming customization.
The downside of this approach is that (large) consulting firms whose
model is to sell many days of support are not always very keen to
recommend us! However, we are seeing the emergence of a community of
consultants who are committed to ensuring their customers’
success with pragmatic approaches, for whom supporting a successful
rapid implementation is a guarantee of long-term relationships with
their customers.
So, if your favorite consulting firm points you in the direction of a
particular solution, make sure you understand how it fits into their
business model. Also listen to word-of-mouth, to feedback from
companies that have implemented the solution. How long did it take?
Were the results achieved? Was it just an experiment, or a large-scale
deployment?
For more information, contact KenTitmuss.
About the Author
Bernard
Milian has more than 35 years of experience in developing agility
within industrial and distribution supply chains. He has more than 25
years of experience in Supply Chain Management and Continuous
Improvement / Lean 6 Sigma transformation. He has served as a Supply
Chain Director within French subsidiaries of world class corporations,
in the automotive, electronics, medical devices, furniture and
metallurgy industries, B2B, B2C, manufacturing and distribution
environments
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