BEGIN WITH PROCESS CHANGES THAT ADD VALUE

As the firm does embark on its supply chain management journey, it invariably
initiates a search for immediate improvement to areas that offer financial gain.
To assist this effort, process maps are drawn detailing the important process for
whatever is defined as the end-to-end business. Most of these maps are developed
on an individual business unit basis, which is very acceptable for early

efforts. Using current modeling tools, as described by Poirier (2004), the firm
can move forward to implementing the enhancements in the areas of greatest
importance. The early gains confirm the potential of a supply chain effort, but
eventually lead to the need for cross-organizational collaboration.
This effort generally gets off to a good start, because of the potential benefits
that can be achieved. The secret is to make certain the major cultural inhibitors
are overcome, so the progress can continue to higher levels. As mentioned, the
survey conducted by CSC and Supply Chain Management Review verifies that
most firms do make early gains and can document financial gains, but get
bogged down in the middle of the effort. As the recommended steps are discussed,
we will take care to point out the more salient inhibitors we have
encountered and the solutions that aid progress.
There we
see that the firm analyzes its business processes and begins an attempt to
improve those that have the greatest opportunity for short-term improvement
and financial impact. Building a business case for making such an effort is done
next as the firm attempts to improve both efficiency and effectiveness across
the highlighted processes. The important considerations must be oriented around
taking a process view of running the business, a step often missed in early
efforts. With a high-level plan established, the firm can then begin working on
process redesign and process automation, where appropriate.
Starting on the inside requires some basic understanding. To begin, the need
for collaboration, or the ability to work jointly with others or together, especially
in an intellectual effort for the greater benefit of the overall business, is
crucial. Supply chain progress is not lacking because of an absence of tools,
brains, or effort. It lags in many firms because of a lack of cooperation between
parties that have the ability to help each other. Our advice is to begin by
selecting one of the more progressive business units or functions within the
business and build successful implementations, requiring some form of intra-