“Adaptability” seems to
be a simple enough term, but it is not something that businesses should take
lightly as we begin to close out 2011 and prepare for the coming year.
I recently wrote a paper called
The Adaptive
Supply Chain: Today’s Mandate for Profitable Growth. Many of you may
recognize the topic if I have spoken with you lately.
With today’s constantly
changing business climate, we can no longer rely on the past to be a good
indicator of the future. Risk, instability, and rapid change are the new norm.
To be successful, we must be able to adapt. It is even more important today
that organizations reach out to change and refuse the traditional status quo to
gain profitable outcomes in their favor.
And remember - it is
impossible for a company to be truly adaptive unless it utilizes responsive
supply chains. Responsive, adaptive supply chains ensure strong profitable growth
in this business climate.
To increase your
adaptability as a supply chain leader, I suggest embracing these eight factors.
- Uncertainty - Uncertainty and risk have become a part of the “new norm” and a reality of
today’s business climate.
- Volatility - Sharp and irregular fluctuations occur as a result of mergers and
acquisitions, marketplace turmoil, commodity, costs, competitive
innovation, demand fluctuations, energy pricing, exchange-rate charges and
similar occurrences.
- Rapid Change - Uncertainty and fluctuations in your business environment will happen
quickly. Free trade and globalization take this rapid rate to make
obsolete any five-year (or even one-year) planning cycles.
- Culture - Adaptive companies must be tolerant companies, or barriers to adaptability
will limit the opportunities for profitable growth.
- Scope - Take a
look at the big picture. Adaptability of an organization is not as
important as the adaptability of that organization’s end-to-end supply
chain.
- Time Frame - If
you are trying to predict the short-term future to become more adaptable,
consider using business intelligence, mid-term predictive modeling,
rolling forecasts, and long-term scenario planning.
- Responsiveness - Responding quickly with a good response is better than responding slowly
with the perfect response.
- Financial Sync - Better decisions are made with better information, and we need to use
financial adaptability as a prerequisite to achieving organizational
adaptability.
Adaptability also
requires that your ears stay finely tuned to the change happening around you. Success
will go to the most resilient – not to those who rely merely on tradition for
the sake of tradition.
Go!Go!Go!
Jim
More Resources
The
Adaptive Supply Chain: Today's Mandate for Profitable Growth
Material
Handling & Logistics: Adapt
for Today, Live to Handle Tomorrow
Global Supply
Chain Expert Stresses Need for Adaptability in 2012
Book: Bold Leadership for Organizational
Acceleration