Control and bureaucracies in Supply Chains
Summary
At the core, there are two fundamental problems that, almost without exception, lead to the undoing of supply chain optimization initiatives: first, a misguided thirst for control; second, bureaucracy taking precedence over reality. Invariably, 100+ questions and requirements are conjured, ranging from impossibly vague concerns like Can the solution leverage weather data? Thus, planning, being the main activity of this specific flavor of bureaucracy, comes with its own long lists of roles, rules, processes, and workflows. Thus, while this supply chain bureaucracy is needed, it comes with a lot of dead weight which does not contribute in any meaningful way to the well-being of the company. Indeed, the “good parts” are typically under immense pressure to actually cope with everything the world throws at them: a pandemic, a flood, a new tariff, a union strike, a supplier bankruptcy, etc.
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