Survey Says: Solid Gains
The third annual "Global Survey of Supply Chain Progress" shows that more and more companies are moving beyond the early stages of internal supply chain excellence and are beginning to collaborate effectively with their supply chain partners. A few leaders have even reached the higher stages of network connectivity.
Charles C. Porier and Francis J. Quinn -- Supply Chain Management Review, 1/1/2006
For the third consecutive year, Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) and Supply Chain Management Review have conducted a "Global Survey of Supply Chain Progress." The purpose of the study was to gauge how successful practitioners have been at advancing their supply chain management capabilities and to identify any emerging trends.
The two previous studies documented steady progress being made along a framework we call the “Five Levels of Supply Chain Evolution.” (Exhibit 1 presents the five-stage framework.) The framework ranges from enterprise integration (level 1) to full network connectivity (level 5). At levels 1 and 2, supply chain optimization efforts are basically limited to within the four walls of the company. Level 3 denotes the beginning of external collaboration, which is typically accompanied by process improvements. Levels 4 and 5 denote true connectivity among the supply chain partners. Although the first two studies suggested progress along this evolutionary framework, there did seem to be a log jam of respondents in level 2—the internal-optimization stage of supply chain progress. Things changed, however, in the 2005 study. According to this year’s results, a high percentage of companies across all 18 of the surveyed industries have moved through the third level and are purposely working to collaborate with external supply chain partners. Almost 50 percent of the respondents indicated that their progress is beyond level 2, and another 20 percent now place their firm past level 3 in nearly all of the key supply chain application areas, as discussed in more detail below. We can conclude from these results that supply chain management not only is alive and well in the business arena but also is progressing nicely toward the concept of full network connectivity—the collaborative sharing of data and knowledge online among business partners. Of more immediate significance, the 2005 survey findings confirm that supply chain initiatives have resulted in significant cost reduction and revenue improvements. Continued ...
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