Myths and Truths: Misadventures in Supply Chain Management

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the January-February 2016 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

January-February 2016

It’s a new year. Most of us will have new budgets to meet and new expectations for the performance of our supply chains. Many will look to best practices from industry leaders to improve our operations. But, are best practices really the “best” way to go? As you think about 2016, I hope you ask the question: What better practices can I adopt for my supply chain?

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Before Galileo’s death nearly 400 years ago, Conventional Wisdom held that the earth—and not the sun—was the center of the universe. More recently, Conventional Wisdom held that smoking, drinking, stress, and diet caused peptic ulcers. Then, two Australian scientists, Robin Warren and Barry J. Marshall, showed that bacteria caused ulcers. Meanwhile, The Wisdom of Crowds, a book by James Surowiecki, contends that the collective conclusions by groups of individuals are often better than those made by any single member of the group.

Well, maybe; maybe not. Remember that Galileo’s belief that the sun was the center of the universe was ultimately proved correct. Maybe conventional wisdom isn’t always right.

The same can be said of supply chain management. Since it was first introduced in 1982, supply chain management has experienced a series of transformations. Initially seen as a better way of reducing costs and leveraging resources, it has gone from being a function (purchasing, for example) to being a cross-functional, strategic capability. More importantly, it is now transforming from an art—something that is learned only through trial, error, and experience—to a science. A hallmark of science is the continuous testing of commonly held beliefs.

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