Let the Research Speak!Increasing the chances of successful supply chain managementby Ram Reddy Continued from Page 1 Survey Says!A common problem with unsuccessful SCM implementations is the lack of commitment within an enterprise and its supporting supply chain. In the article "Herding Cats Across the Supply Chain," I emphasized the need for well-articulated and measurable goals for an SCM effort. Furthermore, these goals need to be clearly understood within the enterprise and across the supply chain for the SCM technology effort to be successfully implemented. The survey found that the average and high-performing adopters ensured buy-in to the SCM technology goals across the supply chain. In my column "One Quick Hit at a Time," I advocated that SCM technology implementation efforts needed to be divided into incremental deliverables to be successful. The enterprise needs to prioritize and focus on SCM areas that are broken and most problematic. Whenever an enterprise engages an SCM consulting firm, one expected short-term deliverable is the always-present "low-hanging fruit" list of projects. If you review your enterprise's lists of "low-hanging fruit" over time, you may be shocked to discover that they haven't changed over the years. The likely reason for avoiding broken processes may be that doing so is not that appealing — compared to implementing a fully integrated SCM suite! The survey found that fixing broken SCM processes with the technology implementation improved the success metric. Focusing on incremental deliverables within a short time frame also has the positive benefit of keeping and meeting internal customer expectations, and helps control the scope creep that sinks many IT projects. The survey found that implementation teams that delivered what they promised laid the groundwork for successful implementation of subsequent SCM modules. The myth that GUI applications require minimal user training has also hurt many SCM technology implementations. Just training on the application package isn't enough! The survey found that successful companies went beyond the operational training. They ensured that users within the enterprise and across the supply chain were trained to make better business decisions using the new system. This area is frequently neglected because it requires the development of training material that goes beyond the operational documents supplied by technology vendors or systems integrators. Clearly, developing training material that emphasizes the decision-making aspect falls on the shoulders of good managers or supervisors within the enterprise. Finally, the survey found that incentive structures for all users of the SCM technology within the firm and across the supply chain were aligned for the successful implementation of the application in high-performing adopters. The biggest weapon in changing business processes supported by SCM technologies is through the paycheck. Firms that did well on the success metric had accountability from all participants across the supply chain, through some form of incentive mechanism. For incentives to be successful, they need to be credible. The factors I discussed earlier for the successful implementation and realization of business objectives can be applied outside the area of SCM technology implementations as well. Beyond SCM TechnologiesThe survey results really aren't a startling revelation, but we finally have an objective study to support our anecdotal beliefs and hunches. The survey gives firms a checklist to measure their progress and helps them figure out how to proceed toward successful SCM technology implementation. The fundamental survey findings — that you need to fix broken processes first, take an incremental approach, emphasize operational and decision-making training, and align incentive structures — can be applied to other technology areas as well. I would bet that similar research conducted in areas such as customer relationship management would uncover the same basic principles. Ram Reddy [ramreddy@tacticagroup.com] is the author of Supply Chains to Virtual Integration (McGraw-Hill, 2001). He is also the president of Tactica Consulting Group (www.tacticagroup.com), a technology and business strategy consulting company. RESOURCESKanakamedala et. al. "Getting Supply Chain Software Right," The McKinsey Quarterly, 2003, No. 1. Related Articles on Application Integration at IntelligentEnterprise.com: "Herding Cats Across the Supply Chain," Sept. 8, 2000 "One Quick Hit at a Time," Nov. 12, 2001 See the Supply Chain Information Center more about supply chain technology.
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