It’s not everyday that someone promises to redefine the future of supply chain management.
But, that is what APICS, the US Association for Operations Management, is promising. The APICS Foundation is working with Michigan State University’s Department of Supply Chain Management to identify and examine the capabilities necessary for strategic supply chain success.
The two year study will examine factors in three areas: an organisation’s business model, management, and the inter-relationship between the business model and supply chain operations.
“Supply chain optimisation goes far beyond being better, faster and cheaper,” says David Closs, chair of MSU’s supply chain department. “We need to understand the factors that facilitate and inhibit the transformation of a supply chain from tactical to strategic.”
The research will generate relevant, actionable insights that promise to advance the design and execution of supply chain operations going forward,” according to APICS Foundation director Sharon Rice.
It’s a huge undertaking – just think of all the variables involved in the relationship between any organisation’s business model and the operation of its supply chain. I look forward to seeing the result.
But will it result in a redefinition of supply chain management? The jury must be out on that – still you can’t fault the ambition.
