We lose 40% of our labor dollars, direct and indirect, because our employees don’t know, or don’t work to, the supply chain strategy. It isn’t because they don’t want to or can’t, but because they don’t know where “North on the Compass” is for their organization’s supply chain, they are making decisions that don’t support or align with our strategies. Supply chain strategy and management is more than just buying, making, and shipping. It is the integrated effort to have the right product, for the right customer, at the right quantity, at the right price, at the right time, in the right place, and in the right condition. How many of us can actually say we do this successfully, consistently, and profitably?

For the time we are together, the themes we will teach and cover regarding supply chain strategy, alignment, and processes are as follows: Supply chain reliability, Batches and Frequencies to sell or produce, Desired speed and quality within and across the supply chain, Sales & Operations Planning decisions, External Collaboration, and KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators).