Daily Archives: September 3, 2014

Easy Question. Easier Answer.

A recent post over on Strategic Sourcing that asked Executives:Do You Have the Right Resources asked an easy question with an even easier answer. NO.

How does the doctor know this?

1) Not only did The Hackett Group 2014 Procurement Key Issues survey report that 76% of companies stated that they needed to expand Procurement’s scope/influence, but previous studies have shown that as little as 8% of organizations are world class.

2) Large organizations that embark on a Procurement transformation journey generally take 5 years or more to become world class, and by the time they reach this point, a number of technologies or processes that were upgraded in the first stage remained untouched for three years, meaning that these organizations have to go back and start a transformation journey all over again just to stand still.

3) Since the definition of the right resources changes with operational changes, product and services changes, market changes, and new developments in talent management, technology, and operations research, even if you had the right resources yesterday, you may not have the right resources today.

When you put all this together, the chances of a large organization having all the right resources are so astronomically small that they are effectively zero. A few organizations, which fall into the Hackett Group’s world class organization bucket, are close, but the vast majority, which make up the average or laggard category, are nowhere close.

So what are these resources? For a start, as pointed out in Mickey’s post, they are the right talent, technology, and transformation (capability) resources — the 3Ts that form the base of a successful, aligned*, organization.

Talent

Even though everything changes as time goes on, one thing has been the same since global trade began. Ever since goods first floated down the Nile or first travelled the Silk Road, people ran the supply chain. And even though they may employ a wealth of tools and be hindered and aided by a plethora of government regulations, they still do. You need the right talent to succeed.

Technology

Always in a state of change, and sometimes flux, you have to not only identify the best products for your organization, but implement and utilize them properly.

Transformation Capability

Remember, it’s not people, technology, process; it’s talent, technology, and transformation because you need the ability to constantly evolve your process as needed to meet the current needs of the supply chain. If you don’t have transformative capabilities, buying the best processes and practices from a big 6 consulting firm won’t do you any good.

You need to not only acquire the right talent, technology, and transformative capability but you also need to maintain the talent, technology, and transformative capability as time goes on to truly succeed. And if you ever say you have the right resources, in today’s economy, you’ve lost the supply chain battle before it has even begun.

* More to come on this!