Lessons from a Failed Supply Chain Initiative

Lessons from a Failed Supply Chain Initiative 

The first of our cases points to the need for managing the perceptions of each function when enlisting them in a supply chain improvement effort. The problems eneountered call for continued top management eommit-ment, defining the seope of the supply chain improvement effort, collaboration between departments, and coordinated pursuit of the demand-driven supply chain. 

Xerxes, a real company but a fictitious name, is a midsize producer of semiconductors for the networking and telecommunications industries. The company is a subsidiary of a larger parent that is headquartered in another state, but which does business worldwide through multiple divisions and affliates. 

As a consultant retained to assess the company s procurement and logistics operations, this author saw first-hand the reasons for that initiative to fail. Here are a few of those reasons  

Much of the planning and scheduling at Xerxes was manual. Although there was computer-generated information on billings, forecast demand, and finished and in-process inventory, planners still used spreadsheets and personal judgment to fill the gaps. 

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