MIT Supply Chain Strategy is an independent newsletter published by IOMA with the mission to drive competitive advantage by linking corporate strategy and supply chain management. Its 12 issues each year shepherd senior executives from a broad cross section of industries and corporate disciplines through developing a strategy that defines how their supply chain should work.
The management of a company's lifeline— its supply chain—underpins its competitiveness. Organizations that understand this, and fuse corporate strategy and supply chain management to create a strategic asset become market leaders. Yet many enterprises—and otherwise sage business leaders—still fail to make this crucial connection. Supply Chain Strategy exists to help both leaders and laggards bridge the gap between supply chain professionals and the boardroom.
Outsourcing to a low-cost country (LCC) is one of the most well-documented supply chain strategies implemented by companies over recent years, yet many enterprises still take this momentous step without considering all the ramifications. The potential for dramatic cost savings and the need to keep up with competitors are strong reasons for going offshore, but not to the exclusion of other key factors that corporate leaders should consider.
The global call to action on climate change has put pressure on companies to measure the volume of greenhouse gases they are responsible for, also known as the carbon footprint. But companies also need to prepare for carbon labeling, a more exacting environmental measure that shows consumers how much carbon that products generate.
Many companies choose to invest in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to improve the management of their businesses. While the technology undoubtedly delivers big efficiencies, it can be blunted by its very popularity. If most of your rivals have an ERP system, how can you derive competitive advantage from your investment?
Is your procurement organization stuck in a transactional rut or reaching for the kind of supply wins that deliver competitive advantage and millions of dollars in cost savings? Knowing where your organization is positioned on procurement’s evolutionary scale helps you to understand what supply chain efficiencies are being left on the table and how you can push to the next level.
Examples abound of supply chains that are thrown off-balance by a sudden surge in demand, but there aren’t many that involve a whole industry waking up from a 30-year slumber.
MIT-CTL Supply Chain Strategy is part of...
Corporate Financial Management
