With our Supply Chain Leadership Forum quickly approaching, I’ve invited the Consortium’s Executive Director and my brother, Bruce Tompkins, to tell us a little more about how folks can benefit through networking at the August 29-31 event in Florida. – Jim

In today’s fast-paced world, how often do any of us slow down enough to stop and talk face-to-face with colleagues about developments in the supply chain field?

When do we take the time to find out what others are doing and seek answers to puzzling questions?

For me, the answer to these questions is: "Not very often."

Is there not enough value in taking this time to learn from others, or do I already know everything there is to know, so why bother? Or is it just a matter of opportunity?

I would argue that it is all about opportunity. There are few opportunities to really network these days, even when you consider the conferences you may attend or the people you may interact with online during the course of working hours. But even conferences today tend to be too fast paced – with packed agendas and speaking whirlwinds designed to educate by lecture instead of through discussion and interaction.

Face-to-face networking offers tremendous opportunities to learn what successes and failures your peers have experienced. You get the chance to ask questions that help you gain a deeper understanding of a topic, as opposed to the cursory view presented at most conferences.

I think there is great value in true face-to-face networking with smart, knowledgeable, interesting people, and so I suggest an oasis in the conference jungle: The Supply Chain Consortium’s Leadership Forum.

The forum is based on a format of breakout sessions in which participants share ideas and insights on a variety of supply chain topics. And there is plenty of time in between sessions for getting to know one another and learning how others in your industry are dealing with today’s toughest challenges.

Check out how to join the Consortium at http://www.supplychainconsortium.com/, and then come network with us this year at the Walt Disney WorldÒ Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

-- Bruce

Guest Blogger: Greg Hazlett, Principal, Global Supply Chain Services, Tompkins Associates 

Greg lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is an expert in helping high-tech companies – including manufacturers and distributors of computer hardware and software, consumer electronics, semiconductors, components and peripherals, and capital equipment – improve their global supply chain activities.

We’ve all been to those tradeshows in Las Vegas where the highest volume of people to the lowest ranges from the casino floor, to the conference speeches and panels, to the exhibition floor.

The recent Reverse Logistics Conference in Las Vegas "reversed" all that. The Expo floor was busy from the opening reception through the closing on Feb. 10. The sessions were relatively well attended, but the casino we were in was relatively empty. Go figure!

I was at the conference to moderate a panel, attend a number of presentations and panel discussions, and tour the exhibit hall.

The panel I hosted, Creating a Customer Centric Reverse Supply Chain Strategy, was reasonably well attended, especially in light of the fact that we were up against a Wal-Mart panel. There was a lot of discussion around technology to support the reverse process, as well as its ability to support the consumer experience. Software in this space is relatively new, and most of it homegrown by providers, rather than offered to others, but we are now starting to see commercial products with the service supply chain as its main focus.

Other important topics that came across during the panel discussion were the ability to measure the customer experience, using reverse capabilities to grow revenues, and managing the customer lifecycle vs. purely focusing on the product lifecycle.

Special thanks to my panelists: John Axe of the ECN Group, Dr. Dale Rogers from Univ. of Nevada – Reno, Srini Gorty of Evavi, Jim Schoessling from Servigistics, Randy Hatheway of Ryder Supply Chain Solutions, and Patrick Sullivan from Inmar – Reverse Logistics.

Great job by all!

Based on what I learned at the conference, my Top 3 Takeaways are:

1) Reverse Logistics is attracting greater attention today as companies seek to cut costs, and the focus on this key part of the service supply chain will only continue to grow;

2) We’re now starting to see commercial products with service supply chain as the main focus vs. software created by homegrown providers; and

3) Being able to measure the customer experience is a high priority in managing the service supply chain customer lifecycle.

As a side note, the majority of conferences I’ve been to have had an "Us vs. Them" feel – the "Us" being the customers (manufacturers and retailers), and the "Them" being the various types of service providers. While the conference attendees were predominantly service providers, the manufacturers and retailers were in attendance, but the conference didn’t by any means revolve around them.

And while the service providers were interested in gaining business from the retailers and manufacturers, the majority of them were looking for partners to help grow their business – either by sharing leads or working together as part of a larger solution set. Everyone wanted to share information and get the word out on what they were doing. No games of chance here – a sure winner!

Did you attend the conference, and if so, what did you take away from it? What is your organization doing in the area of reverse logistics these days?

More Reverse Logistics Resources

 

Blog Post: Pause: Services Supply Chain Is Not the Same as Rewind

 

Blog Post: Service Supply Chain: A Golden Opportunity to Cut Costs and Make Your Customers Happier

 

Read the article, Returns, Refunds and Recalls: Reliable Reverse Logistics 

 

See the scope of Service Supply Chain consulting services from Tompkins Associates (PDF).

Photo credit: Gregory Moine

We kicked off the 2009 Supply Chain Leadership Forum in Chicago Monday night with a bang. What a great bunch of folks, and we’re having fun while tackling some tough issues! We are all strangely mesmerized by the innovative hand-dryers in the bathrooms at the InterContinental Hotel, but more on that later.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Leadership Forum, top supply chain executives from around the world come together to learn, network and gain solutions to issues in areas such as benchmarking, sourcing and trade management, core benchmarks, packaging, sustainability and technology. This year, more than 50 experts from 30 companies in retail, consumer products, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, high-tech and other industries are in attendance.

Monday night, I led an Executive Summit that began with the statement "Everyone needs a T-shirt that says ‘I survived the Great Recession of 2009.’" We all agreed that was true, as we dived deeper into the topic. Their feedback really supports what we have been saying all along about the economic recovery: You have to look at each sector individually and figure out when your industry has or will hit bottom.

Listening to the economic experts drone on and on about a macro recovery and how the recession will not be over until unemployment goes back up and the moon and stars align just perfectly is not going to help your organization grow and prosper. A strong Comeback Plan focuses on your company and your industry sector. Period.

Here are some of the best lessons that I have learned thus far from talking to attendees:

1) Beer is flat and soup is hot. Meaning that food in general – including soup, frozen pizzas and other inexpensive, eat-at-home cuisine – are doing well right now. Also, beer sales are holding their own. In fact, food and beverage really never tanked, although there have been channel and brand changes in response to the downturn. In addition, there has also been some "trading down" in this sector by consumers who are willing to settle for a less expensive or private label brand to save money.

 

2) Retaining talent is key regardless of budget cuts. More than ever, you need "the right strategy and the right people" to get things done.

 

3) An awesome realization – This is the first time we’ve experienced a recession under massive globalization. And what it has revealed is either a) we’ve gotten so lean that forecasting will have to get better in order to be of any value at all. We really need more base and accuracy measurements, or b) the new norm is that there is no norm, and it’s nearly impossible to make good forecasts today, or c) the truth is somewhere in the middle. We did all agree that companies need several different forecast scenarios for their individual Comeback Plans.

Here are some of the dumbest things businesses have done during the recession:

1) Stopped keeping track of their competitors and what they’re doing and started focusing inward, almost as if they are withdrawing into a fetal position. Wrong. This is the opposite of what companies should be doing.

 

2) Not "standing up on the hills." Failure to launch an effective Comeback Plan is like being in a bicycle race and forgetting that it is on the uphill that you need to stand up and really turn on the juice.

 

3) Cutting the people you will need later – not retaining talent. This was mentioned more than a few times.

Here are some of the smartest things that businesses have done during the recession:

1) Using the downturn as an opportunity to acquire other companies at a low cost in an environment in which private equity firms are uncharacteristically quiet right now.

 

2) Learning from other countries: look at what works there and see if it will work for your organization. Not everything will fit, but a lot of it promises to be very beneficial.

 

3) Stepping up benchmarking to understand where you need the most help, or the most appropriate time "to stand up on your bike."

 

4) Inventory: reducing levels can be smart or dumb – depends on how you optimize other areas in your network and how it affects customer expectations.

 

5) Implementing more frequent network design reviews.

Hand-dryer in the bathroom (I know you were waiting for this one)

There’s a really cool, new-fangled Dyson Airblade hand-dryer in the bathrooms at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare hotel. Actually, I just learned that it has been around since 2007, but it is new to the majority of our attendees and seems to amaze our staff. Why am I mentioning this? Not sure, other than it is a really cool device, we have photos of it, and it’s just another positive element in the whole Leadership Forum experience.

Look for more later in the week on how the remainder of the forum went and the results of our on-site, real-time survey that attendees are filling out today and tomorrow.

With very dry hands!

Jim

I had to make five really difficult decisions last week. Of course, I have to make more than a few tough decisions every week of my life, but this time it was different because it involved my new book, Caught Between the Tiger and the Dragon and my new passion, Twitter.

Every single day I had to choose from the high quality of insightful tweets made by the great people on Twitter and pick one to win as the best  “Tweet of the Day.” This contest was a lot of fun to do, and it really made me see the potential of Twitter. There were so many great Tweets, and I have learned that there are so many great people Twittering out there. Each daily winner received a free copy of my new book – an entertaining novel about doing business in China. 

I wanted to do this quick blog post to point out each winner so you will have the opportunity to start following them on Twitter too. Also, you can follow my Twitter account at https://twitter.com/jimtompkins so be sure to join in! It’s a blast. 

Monday May 11
SCMuttart
Manager of PR at Vocollect

See the winning Tweet

Tuesday May 12
wiloinc
Martin Stockdale
Wireless Logistics, Inc.
(No specific Tweet, but all messages in general) 

Wednesday May 13
logisticsviewpt
Adrian Gonzalez
ARC Advisory Group
See the winning Tweet

 

Thursday May 14
komarah
Kevin O'Marah
Chief Strategist at AMR Research

(No specific Tweet, but all messages in general) 

Friday May 15
supplychainguru
Chris Brenner

(No specific Tweet, but all messages in general) 

To all the winners:  Thanks for entering the contest and enjoy the new book, and I’m sure I’ll be talking to you soon.  

Jim

It’s that magical time of year again when we step out of “March Madness” into “April Amazement.” Amazement at the talents of the final four teams, that is! The championship game is tonight between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Michigan State Spartans, obviously two very talented teams.

Watching the games over the weekend, it occurred to me that the NCAA Basketball Tournament is a classic study on what it takes to reach the highest levels of performance in a highly competitive environment – one that is not unlike today’s business world.  Just like the final four teams, companies need to have talented people, leaders who can take charge, organizational balance and depth, clearly defined roles, and excellent strategies and plans.

Talented people are the main ingredient in a successful business, just as gifted players are the key to a winning team.  Talented people provide the experience and know-how. They are physically and mentally able to put forth the effort to get the job done, whether increasing market share/ROA or profitability or making the final 3-point shot to win the game.

Without the point-guard as the basketball team leader, who would run the team's offense and make sure the ball gets in the right hands? Likewise, without a good leader to set the example, where would companies look for inspiration and guidance? Great business leaders and team leaders keep engaging the right resources to bring about success both in the business markets as well as on the hardwood.  

Organizational balance and depth is the third key ingredient for success.  Teamwork, regardless of whether it involves a round ball or an important strategy is required to stay ahead in the game.  Chemistry, cooperation and collaboration are also necessities in order to optimize results – be it on the court or in the conference room.

And a team doesn’t just start running like a well-oiled machine; clearly defined roles are necessary for this to happen. People and players are coached to understand their roles in making the team better, and each one’s skills and knowledge are tapped for the benefit of the whole.

Last but not least, a successful business cannot exist without strategies and plans. I mean, could you imagine a final four team without an outstanding coach backed by a winning playbook? Doesn’t exist. This all-essential playbook is understood and supported by the team while still allowing for real-time fine tuning as the game progresses. Similarly, with company executives (just like basketball players), a strong coach and a winning playbook are required and the organization must possess the ability to shift plans and strategies based on the competition and environment.  Regardless of the score, a mindset of alignment with the strategy while deploying continuous improvement is vital to winning the game.

Although the sun is setting on this year’s national basketball tournament, it never sets in the world of global business or the global supply chain. That’s one reason I am excited to be involved in this year’s Supply Chain Leadership Forum coming up in September in Chicago. At this event, member companies learn how to continuously improve by benchmarking their performances against competitors, networking with peers, and understanding how to best utilize their talented teams.

If you’re interested, go to http://www.supplychainconsortium.com/Seminars/2009/overview.asp. This event may not be as exciting as tonight’s game from a competitive perspective, but I assure you it will be more exciting from a growth and learning perspective.

Go!Go!Go!

Jim

What’s on the minds of future business and supply chain executives?

Tuesday afternoon, I took a short road trip from Raleigh to Burlington for a keynote I was presenting at Elon University on Global Supply Chain issues. I’ve given speeches to executives around the world on just about any supply chain topic you can name, but I particularly look forward to interacting with young folks and finding out what’s on the minds of our future business and supply chain execs.

The students at Elon University didn’t fail to deliver! Questions ranged from fuel consumption, carbon footprints, implications of outsourcing, the U.S. losing manufacturing jobs, automotive industry viability, China being an open market for U.S. goods, China pushing manufacturing jobs to Vietnam, and more. These are all difficult and important questions that will certainly affect everyone’s future.

The most memorable exchange that took place with a student was in response to a statement I made on China being a capitalistic country, not a communist country. "What are the benefits of single party rule?" the student asked. And my response was that they get things done with little debate. This was followed by, "What if what they get done is not properly looking at human rights?" I responded by pointing out that I am a supply chain guy, not an ethics guy, so I am not sure that I’m the best person to ask about human rights.

I do know that human rights are a trade off. For example, a family lives in a house that blocks the expansion of a much needed highway and maybe even a spotted owl lives in the backyard of the family’s house. In the U.S., we do 7 years of study and even then probably do not build the highway. In China, they quickly build the highway. Being a supply chain guy, I like the highway as it provides for the improvement of life for many individuals and reduced transportation costs for many companies. Business is full of trade-offs, and our job is to weigh these trade-offs and make good decisions.

I have no doubt that this sharp group of students will be successful in their future career paths, since they are already on track with learning the prerequisites of what it takes for supply chains to be global in the 21st century.

For more information on my keynote, check out the Elon website:

http://www.elon.edu/e-net/Note.aspx?id=935471

Jim

Yesterday was my last day attending the ProMat show in Chicago, and it got me to thinking about the real value of such events. Trade shows are often one of the first items to be cut by both exhibitors and by attendees in tough times.

For exhibitors, the cost reductions are great as doing a trade show well is expensive (space, advertising, staff, travel, ugly shirts, Snickers bars, etc.) And especially in difficult times, it is not clear if the right folks will attend. For attendees, the cost is less, but even with no capital to invest, it is not clear that there is any ROI on attending the show.

However, Tompkins Associates was an exhibitor at ProMat 2009 and there were many attendees. In fact, this was the most productive trade show we have participated in to date. An awesome ROI!

Contrary to many other shows where there are a lot of folks wandering around, "to see what is new," this year's ProMat show was about teams of well-organized people in pursuit of specific solutions to specific problems or opportunities. They were not doing a live version of what they could do electronically from home, but rather spent their time in pursuit of the true value of trade shows. Similarly, for the exhibiting companies who invested in the show by staffing the booth with professionals (and not models or salespeople in green or orange shirts), they obtained the true value of trade shows.

So, what is the true value of trade shows? I think it is the face-to-face interaction between exhibitors/attendees. The true value is sitting down across a table from someone and brainstorming about how you can work together for mutual success. The ROI for smart exhibitors is the creation of new relationships that can lead to new business and the ROI. For smart attendees, the true value is the creation of a relationship that can lead to better performance of their organization. I mean, hello, it is about people!

The tendency in these crazy economic times may be to cut, cut, cut trade shows from your budget. But aren't both exhibitors and attendees both cutting off their noses to spite their faces if they do this? Exhibitors need more clients and interactions today, not fewer. And attendees need more cost reductions, strategic innovations and operational improvements than ever before. So, instead of slashing trade show budgets in difficult times, we should be growing trade show budgets in difficult times.

So yes, trade shows are very important, and if you approach being an exhibitor or an attendee as an opportunity to build relationships, you will move ahead of your competition. So, establish a clear plan for exhibiting or for attending. Yes, in a down market, there is less chocolate and there are fewer fancy pens, squeeze balls and little toys – but maybe this is a good thing.

If people attending trade shows focus more on building relationships and solving problems, there is huge value, huge ROI and any report on the death of trade shows is not only crazy, but absolutely contrary to the ProMat show that just concluded in Chicago. And, by the way, Tompkins did have chocolate, we did do a drawing for a free iPod, and we built many new very positive relationships. We did not have models, we had no ugly bright shirts, but we did make a plan to be back at the next ProMat in two years. I should warm up by then.

Jim

I was checking out some of my favorite blogs and saw this great post from Tom Andel, chief editor of Modern Materials Handling magazine. He writes about some of the interviews he did at ProMat 2009 in Chicago, including the chat I had with him at the show. If you attended ProMat, did you get the "warm oasis of hope" feeling Tom describes?

Check out Tom's blog post, "ProMat 2009: Ignoring recession and weather."

It was 40 years ago that I attended my first Material Handling Show. Wow, other than being married, I can't think of anything else that I have done for 40 years. So it is with many memories and new thoughts that I write this blog from the floor of ProMat in Chicago.

In 1969, I was a student having completed my BSIE at Purdue University and having started my masters with an emphasis on material handling. So, attending the National Material Handling Show in Detroit was a great opportunity to learn. It was cold and snowy in Detroit, but my first show was a gala affair. Lots of excitement, models, booze and lift trucks. Remember, it was 1969.

I first started writing this post with a bunch of history about the things that have changed about the show. Then I realized that the only folks who would really be interested in that stuff do not read blogs. So I cut it. Well, most of it. A few goodies:  

* One thing I find especially interesting is that at the show in 1969, all the cocktail parties had was hard liquor and chips. No beer, no wine. Then in the 1990s, they added beer and pretzels. Then starting about 10 years ago, wine and cheese was the norm. I wonder what we will be drinking/munching in year 2019?

* Another goodie is the outfits the models wore. The shows used to be R-rated. In fact, I was an early advocate of cleaning up the show, and in 1977, I was actually given the job of writing the first guideline on appropriate outfits for the show. Today, no real outfits, except for that one group of folks with the ugly orange shirts.

* Another point on what folks wear. Back in the day, all the guys wore a suit and tie and the gals wore dresses and high heels. You still see some of that today at the show, but the attire is typically more relaxed -- I did see a guy in overalls today and a lady in an outfit that looked like she was ready for her yoga class.

I also find it interesting that you do not have to attend the MHI news conference to learn about the economy. Just walk the floor. Almost no give-aways, and I had to walk four aisles to find a Snickers bar. And then it was one of those mini-bars that tasted like it was left over from Halloween. Really makes me mad to go to a show and not even find good chocolate.

So, folks have cut expenses on the show, but they have not changed their messages. I was in several booths today where folks were trying to sell capital intensive solutions based on a 20 percent ROI. Wow! A very, very difficult sale. In my view, what makes much more sense today is to sell solutions that:

* Are strategic and will provide for a strong competitive advantage after the recession

* Are tactical and will result in immediate short-term cost reductions

It was really cool to see the number of folks at the event who were interested in a holistic supply chain approach to cost cutting. Lots of very worthwhile discussions going on about this topic. I will get more into my cost reduction thinking on later blog posts, but if you want more information now you can go to http://www.tompkinsinc.com/costreduction/

Another interesting evolution that I noted at ProMat is that the key to material handling is no longer material handling, but rather material control. Sure, it is cool to see the new bells and whistles on the handling of materials, but where the real action is today is in the control systems of material movement. Lots of innovation here! Not as exciting as a big piece of equipment moving stuff around, but clearly where creativity is making a huge difference. Very cool!

A topic also gaining lots of momentum is the global supply chain. The end-to-end global supply chain view is the strategy within which material handling solutions must respond. I was very pleased to see a material handling show audience who really "gets it" and grasps the potential for supply chain excellence facilitated by material handling and control excellence.

Lastly, the bottom line at today's show. On a 0 to 10 scale, here is how I would rate the the day (0 is bad, 10 is awesome):

Volume of traffic: 9

Quality of folks entering the booth: 10

Coffee in hotel lobby: 1

Folks prepared when they enter the booth: 8

University students in attendance: 10

Availability of free chocolate: 1

Executive interaction: 9

Grand opening ribbon cutting: 3

Optimism about handling the recession: 7

Understanding of how to win after the recession: 4

The ugly orange shirts: -4

Weather in Chicago: 0 (unless you really like snow)

All in all, a great day. ProMat is going strong, and I am looking forward to tomorrow. I think I will bring my own chocolate. Wow, isn't that snow pretty!

Jim