Is Supply Chain Management an Art or Craft or Both--Guest Column-PARCEL Magazine March-April 2016
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MARCH-APRIL 2016 | www.PARCELindustry.com 13 BY THOMAS L. TANEL GUEST COLUMN within the supply chain, whereas art is a representational expression of ideas, passions and experiences that seeks to add value. Unlike craft, art is known to come out of the heart and soul — creativ- ity. In Gartner’s 11 th annual global Sup- ply Chain Top 25 in 2015, they indicated that “some of the leading companies are tracking customer satisfaction measures, and their supply chains are not just col- lecting data concerning the details of the sale, but also the patterns of usage and resulting sentiment of the end user,” which is artful. Craft comes out as experience and needs considerable supply chain event exercise to deliver consistent and sus- tainable world-class practices. It is based on a person’s skill sets developed over time. More to the point, craft work is skilled work. One of the 2015 Gartner Supply Chain Top 25’s Key Trends was that “the more mature supply chain or- ganizations have dedicated teams and established playbooks for assessing the current and required capabilities of new businesses and determining the best transition roadmap… strategies tailored to different business units, while others differentiate by major geography or indi- vidual markets” which involves the appli- cation of technique or craft. Supply chain managers must have the tools (craft) to accomplish their task. Managing supply chains like any other discipline is an art because it is the abil- ity to do things in light of the reality that pertains to the given situation. SCM is a craft with a systematized body of knowl- edge and universal application as well as an art that requires specific skill to be applied as the situation demands. It implies putting knowledge into practice (wisdom) by a person who possesses a highly specialized set of expertise and skill sets. In summary, art is a result of a person’s innate, creative talents whereas skill in craft can be acquired with experience. In craft, more practical thought (prag- matics) is needed; whereas art is more related to supply chain aesthetics (per- spective or aggregate of fine qualities). And what we term art can be described as “perspicacity-based work” while craft applies to “credentialed and/or certified supply chain professionals doing their thing.” The need to know how to effec- tively manage the end-to-end, forward and backward flow of materials and in- formation through your supply chain is both art and craft. Therefore, as a person engages in the supply chain over a period of time, we allow them to go from being technically competent to a point where they have mastered their craft by practic- ing it for many years. From the above discussion, it is clear that SCM is a mixture. The artistic ele- ment and the craft component in SCM are intricately linked. Since they comple- ment each other, it’s not an either art or craft situation. It is both art and craft! Today, supply chain management is the place where art and craft must be able to employ a plethora of ever-changing tech- nology. How do you measure up? ¾ THOMAS L. TANEL, CTL, C.P.M., CCA, CISCM, is the President and CEO of CATTAN Services Group, Inc. specializing in Logistics and Supply Chain is- sues. He can be reached at [email protected] or 979.212.8200. ith all the hullabaloo about the Supply Chain profession, I think that we need to make a solid dis- tinction between art and craft. Art is a result of a person’s innate, creative talents whereas skill in craft can be acquired with experience. Craft can be called skill sets. In craft, more practical thought is needed whereas in art, it is be- ing innovative or pioneering beyond basic supply chain concepts or techniques. Art, in the supply chain, revolutionizes to the point where the rules of the game change to accommodate it. By way of ex- ample, how supply chains can leverage digital capabilities to support new busi- ness models and improve performance is truly revolutionary because value can be a profit multiplier. The art of supply chain management (SCM) is not easy to implement because it runs counter to the ingrained logistics functionally-oriented thinking about how supply chains orga- nize, operate, and add value. Yet art is needed in managing flexi- ble and uncertain supply chain environ- ments. For example, when customers val- ue distinctive or unique output (in other words, all customers don’t want the prod- uct or service to perform or be performed the same way), this is art. Craft involves technique and implies the application of human intelligence. As an example, act- ing quickly and decisively to capitalize on given supply-chain opportunities is craft at work. A craft may be defined as a skill at making the logistical functions useful Supply Chain Management: an Art, Craft, or Both?
Transcript of Is Supply Chain Management an Art or Craft or Both--Guest Column-PARCEL Magazine March-April 2016
MARCH-APRIL 2016 | www.PARCELindustry.com 13
BY THOMAS L. TANEL
GUEST COLUMN
within the supply chain, whereas art is a representational expression of ideas, passions and experiences that seeks to add value. Unlike craft, art is known to come out of the heart and soul — creativ-ity. In Gartner’s 11th annual global Sup-ply Chain Top 25 in 2015, they indicated that “some of the leading companies are tracking customer satisfaction measures, and their supply chains are not just col-lecting data concerning the details of the sale, but also the patterns of usage and resulting sentiment of the end user,” which is artful.
Craft comes out as experience and needs considerable supply chain event exercise to deliver consistent and sus-tainable world-class practices. It is based on a person’s skill sets developed over time. More to the point, craft work is skilled work. One of the 2015 Gartner Supply Chain Top 25’s Key Trends was that “the more mature supply chain or-ganizations have dedicated teams and established playbooks for assessing the current and required capabilities of new businesses and determining the best transition roadmap… strategies tailored to different business units, while others differentiate by major geography or indi-vidual markets” which involves the appli-cation of technique or craft.
Supply chain managers must have the tools (craft) to accomplish their task. Managing supply chains like any other discipline is an art because it is the abil-ity to do things in light of the reality that pertains to the given situation. SCM is a craft with a systematized body of knowl-edge and universal application as well as an art that requires specific skill to be applied as the situation demands. It implies putting knowledge into practice
(wisdom) by a person who possesses a highly specialized set of expertise and skill sets.
In summary, art is a result of a person’s innate, creative talents whereas skill in craft can be acquired with experience. In craft, more practical thought (prag-matics) is needed; whereas art is more related to supply chain aesthetics (per-spective or aggregate of fine qualities). And what we term art can be described as “perspicacity-based work” while craft applies to “credentialed and/or certified supply chain professionals doing their thing.” The need to know how to effec-tively manage the end-to-end, forward and backward flow of materials and in-formation through your supply chain is both art and craft. Therefore, as a person engages in the supply chain over a period of time, we allow them to go from being technically competent to a point where they have mastered their craft by practic-ing it for many years.
From the above discussion, it is clear that SCM is a mixture. The artistic ele-ment and the craft component in SCM are intricately linked. Since they comple-ment each other, it’s not an either art or craft situation. It is both art and craft! Today, supply chain management is the place where art and craft must be able to employ a plethora of ever-changing tech-nology. How do you measure up? ¾
THOMAS L. TANEL, CTL, C.P.M., CCA, CISCM, is the President and CEO of CATTAN Services Group, Inc. specializing in Logistics and Supply Chain is-sues. He can be reached at [email protected] or 979.212.8200.
ith all the hullabaloo about the
Supply Chain profession, I
think that we need to make a solid dis-
tinction between art and craft. Art is a result
of a person’s innate, creative talents whereas skill in craft can
be acquired with experience. Craft can be called skill sets. In craft, more practical thought is needed whereas in art, it is be-ing innovative or pioneering beyond basic supply chain concepts or techniques.
Art, in the supply chain, revolutionizes to the point where the rules of the game change to accommodate it. By way of ex-ample, how supply chains can leverage digital capabilities to support new busi-ness models and improve performance is truly revolutionary because value can be a profit multiplier. The art of supply chain management (SCM) is not easy to implement because it runs counter to the ingrained logistics functionally-oriented thinking about how supply chains orga-nize, operate, and add value.
Yet art is needed in managing flexi-ble and uncertain supply chain environ-ments. For example, when customers val-ue distinctive or unique output (in other words, all customers don’t want the prod-uct or service to perform or be performed the same way), this is art. Craft involves technique and implies the application of human intelligence. As an example, act-ing quickly and decisively to capitalize on given supply-chain opportunities is craft at work.
A craft may be defined as a skill at making the logistical functions useful
Supply Chain Management: an Art, Craft, or Both?
