Nothing wrong Alex, it have its own popularity and majority of supply chain professionals are using Excel in a good way. Even though there are many other free and paid tools are available, we (myself) didn’t even tried to use the other. That means, am that much comfortable with Excel and moreover didn’t want to move away from my comfortable zone. I think majority of supply chain professionals are thinking in similar line.
Yes, there is need for organizational change to get the type of result that Craig and Steve discussed.
Resoultions #3 and #8 empphasizes these changes that needs to occur both wiithin the organizations and in the organization's relationships with all its external audiences. To make change happen, skill development has to be the focus of the oragnization. Each new employees' skill and experience level must be matched with the supervisor's directive and supportive behaviors to model the change desired.
You are right about the need for the management to get it, and to send out the right messages, but those by themselves will not motivate the employees. Helping the employees develop business skills, capabilities, and hands on experience on new and creative ways of doing business builds their confidence. This is what creates a positive work environment and a motivated work force.
While I agree that all of the above 9 resolutions are clearly important for the success, the singlehandedly most critical piece has to be Change Management. Most of the time the hardest problem to overcome is people. If employees are not aligned with the right incentives, they are not willing to change. It's only common for most of us to be content with the way things are because it is much easier to do. SO in order to accomplish the above, management needs to think about sending out the right message and right motivation for employees to do all the great things that will improve the financial bottomline
Dear Craig and steve, the nine points you mentioned through this blog is very much valid, especially in related to supply chain management. I agree that there are many open source and free tools are available in market and over web, which can use in lue of Excel. But still many of the supply chain professionals are much relayed on Excel than any other tools, why?
In my opinion nobody wants to think or experience the things in a different way, everybody wants to think and do their work in a tradition way. Even though they are aware about the other tools and they are more reliable, still they are dependable on Excel. This is because of the confidence they had build over years with MS and Excel. More over I don’t think it’s so easy for them to switch immediate; it may take months and even years for a rethinking.
Thanks for the great conversation everyone! I would simply add that I have fond memories of managing daily requirements planning for a multi-billion dollar consumer electronics company in Excel. I'm also glad that I don't have to do it anymore. It's a terrific tool and will always have a place in supporting thought experiments and helping move from proof of concept to actual system implementation. Indeed, the issue perhaps isn't even with Excel but rather that having folks manage key operational and supply chain data locally risks all kinds of data quality and work flow challenges that could take up an entirely new blog post.
Thanks for the reply and great question. I hate to give you the consulting "it depends" answer, but candidly, it really does depend. It depends on a company's industry, capability requirements, etc. Over the past five or so years, a lot of interesting solutions have emerged which operate like web-based versions of Excel - with a lot more horespower.
This blog is not the proper format to debate the merits of these different supply chain solutions (as each one has its fit in the market), but I will say there are a lot of solutions available that can help companies get off Excel.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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