How much progress have we really made in advancing our supply chain capabilities?

If you base your answer to this question solely on what you've heard or read in the media (and, yes, we include Supply Chain Management Review here), you might say that we're doing very well, indeed. The internal functional areas of corporations are well integrated and working in unison; collaboration with supply chain partners is open and efficient; technology is smoothly implemented and yielding the return on investment as promised; and so on.

The reality, of course, is a little different. That reality is reflected in the Survey of Supply Chain Progress reported on in this issue. Conducted by SCMR and CSC Consulting, this comprehensive survey of supply chain practitioners in North America and Europe confirms that companies are, in fact, making significant progress in supply chain management. But to a large extent, those gains have been related to internal processes and functional areas. And while it's true that more and more companies are starting to climb over the internal walls and embrace their supply chain partners, the survey findings reveal that most still have a ways to go toward establishing true connectivity with these external partners. Notably, those relatively few companies that have extended supply chain management to the more advanced levels enjoy a demonstrable edge over the competition.

One reason that so many companies have a tough time making real supply chain progress is that it's not easy. Our feature on Delphi Corp. makes that crystal clear. Company executive Dave Nelson chronicles how Delphi transformed a conventional supply management function to a highly efficient "lean" operation. Lean produced a number of compelling benefits for this well-known supplier to the automotive industry. But as Nelson candidly points out in his article, implementing a big supply chain improvement initiative like lean "is not for the faint of heart."

Technology is typically an important enabler in any supply chain improvement effort, as it was in the case of Delphi. That's certainly evident at the U.S. Department of Defense, which, along with Wal-Mart, is a driving force behind RFID adoption. Alan Estevez, the RFID champion within the DoD's supply chain operation, and co-author Steve Geary of Supply Chain Visions explain how and why this emerging technology is helping enable today's critical mission—supporting the men and women in the armed services as they operate in a dynamic, fast-changing environment.

Back to the question of how we're doing with regard to supply chain progress. Some companies have advanced farther up the supply chain evolutionary ladder than others. It's not necessarily a bad thing to be on the lower rungs of the ladder. The danger is to be there and not do anything about it.

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fquinn@reedbusiness.com