The line on our front cover says, “Metrics matter.” But simply having supply chain measures in place is only part of the answer. You need to have the right measures in place, and you need to be able to act upon these measures. That's the central message of the first feature article in this issue on “Getting to World-Class Supply Chain Measurement.” Author Debra Hofman of AMR Research points out that all too many companies confuse quantity with quality in their measurement efforts. They gather mounds of data on multiple activities but really don't do anything with this information to actually improve performance.

Hofman lays out a valuable roadmap to successful supply chain measurement. It begins with developing the appropriate supply chain strategies, setting the goals to support those strategies, and then crafting the performance metrics to gauge progress toward those objectives. Hofman then offers a series of implementation tips to truly make the “metrics matter.”

In transforming the sourcing function at Ann Taylor Stores, the company's supply chain leadership had a clear metric in mind. As Anthony Romano and Foster Finley explain in their case study, the guiding measure would be “explicit cash benefit” for each strategic sourcing initiative pursued. Importantly, that benefit had to be realized with no diminution of service or quality levels. The results to date: Ann Taylor has saved an average of 16 percent in the spend categories that have come under the strategic sourcing initiative.

It was the whole notion of metrics, in fact, that attracted well-known educator and author Don Bowersox to this profession in the first place. Bowersox recently announced his retirement from Michigan Sate University after 40 years on the faculty there. In his interview with us, he recalls that the potential to quantitatively measure things like on-time performance and utilization of assets in warehouses and distribution centers was at the heart of his decision to enter the field of logistics.

Metrics can make a difference in performance. Our hope is that the insights and information contained in this issue can turn this promise into a reality for you.

(781) 734-8652, fquinn@reedbusiness.com