The elephant does look different depending on the proximity of the viewer. The same can be said about inventory. I would like to share some experiences with two viewers, the supply chain manager and the product manager.

Recently, Gartner Group announced its Supply Chain Top 25. In recent years, they also introduced Supply Chainnovators to recognize supply chain excellence in mid-sized companies (US$1-10B). Supply Chain Insights (SCI), competing with Gartner on a Supply Chain Index of their own, went as far as calling the Gartner list “a high school popularity contest.”

Last week I had the opportunity to spend time with executives of small and mid-sized manufacturing companies in the greater Louisville, Kentucky area. I was invited to speak at the Metro Manufacturing Alliance (MMA) annual summit at Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg, Indiana. My speech focused on workforce development and how important it is for small and mid-sized manufacturers to invest in developing a “farm team” of talented workers who can contribute to the long-term success of companies.

Your comments after my last post, which I greatly appreciate, reminded me of an interesting meeting I had a few years ago. The group was discussing strategy and linkages between corporate strategy and supply chain and operations strategy.

Supply chain leading practices are a bit like fashion in the apparel industry–wait long enough and they come back disguised under a new name. Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is a great example. Since its introduction, it has been labeled as MRP, ERP, S&OP, S&OIP, and now, IBP (integrated business planning).

At a recent supply chain executive briefing, a participant asked if there was any data available relative to the impact effective supply chains had on overall shareholder value in general and acquisitions specifically.