View from the CSCO’s Office

Not surprisingly, given the fragile state of the economy and generally weakened level of demand, the top action being taken by supply chain professionals to strengthen their companies was to reduce inventory at all levels, cited by 58 percent of C-level executives and 66 percent of other respondents. Roughly half of C-level and non-C-level participants in the study (54 percent and 52 percent, respectively) said that their companies had restructured the supply chain organization to gain additional efficiencies.

The report outlines the process capabilities essential to supply chain excellence and compares how "best-in-class" organizations apply those capabilities versus "average" and "laggard" enterprises. Nearly eight in ten (79 percent) of best-in-class organizations reported that they had the ability to find and access supply chain data necessary for decision-making, versus 58 percent of laggard organizations. Similar percentages applied to the application of cross-functional metrics (78 percent and 58 percent, respectively, for best-in-class and laggard organizations).

The gap was much narrower for more advanced capabilities, such as the ability to make mid-course changes to shipments through reallocation or re-routing of in-transit shipments. Here, only 35 percent of best-in-class organizations report having this capability, versus 28 percent for laggards.

The report also outlines the organizational and technological capabilities that distinguish best-in-class organizations from average and laggard enterprises, providing case studies that illustrate how critical capabilities can produce significant bottom line impact within diverse companies. In addition, the report provides recommended actions to help laggard and average organizations elevate their performance to best-in-class status, and advice for best-in-class organizations to continue their path to excellence.

The "2010 Chief Supply Chain Officers' Report" currently can be accessed free of charge (registration required) at www.scmworld.org.