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EBOOK - Four steps to creating your

supply chain design development plan

This new ebook from supply chain software company Llamasoft, focuses on assessing
where companies are in terms of designing an optimal supply chain to respond to
modern market demands. As they introduce the challenge, “The modern supply chain is
an increasingly complex and volatile network that often stretches across continents and
supports numerous market segments. With this complexity, the impacts of change are
harder to determine and the risks involved with being unprepared increase.

SUPPLY CHAIN managers are often under
pressure from powerful, competing forces. For
example, you might be given a mandate to
improve customer service by getting products
to end users faster while at the same time
cutting costs. That’s not going to be easy to do.”
The focus of the book is therefore on
achieving a smart, eff ective supply chain design
which can deal with the relationship and trade-
off s between metrics such as service levels
and cost, and incorporates the optimal supply
chain solution. The book leads the reader quite
simply and clearly through the steps in the supply y
chain design journey which will help practitioners acceptance throughout the business and lead to
and supply chain users assess the current design internal and external collaboration.
maturity level and create a supply chain design • Summit attainment: Finally, supply chain design
roadmap to get the business where it wants to be, is unlocking competitive advantage and driving
which is agile, fl exible, responsive and eff ective. strategy.
The book argues that at the simplest level, the In order to arrive at this design process,
supply chain design of a business determines how the business will go through four steps of self-
it gets products and services to market. These are assessment.
decisions every organisation has to make. But that The four steps are:
doesn’t mean every organisation does it well. The Step #1: Align the strategy
key to great supply chain design is making sure Step #2: Assess supply chain maturity
there is a plan to move from current maturity levels Step #3: Identify the gaps
to a higher level within a reasonable timeframe Step #4: Prioritise projects
(typically 3-5 years). Each of these steps will require an assessment
The book adopts a straightforward of where the company is in terms of maturity levels
mountaineering metaphor to describe and for addressing the changes necessary to move
eff ective fi ve-step process of addressing supply supply chain design to the centre of the business.
chain design: This assessment process, for each of the four steps,
• Trekking in: the introductory stage, where supply relates to the people, business processes, and the
chain design might be done by one person, and technology enablers in the company.
buy-in for the process is in progress The book is schematic and very accessibly
• Basecamp establishment: here, multiple roles written, and will be a very useful guide for those
start to develop and links to strategic decision companies looking to start a wholesale redesign
making processes is established of the supply chain role in order to improve
• Design ascension: here, repeatable processes and bottom line performance. It will be a useful ally in
standards are put in place and linked to strategic persuading senior executives about the need for a
agenda. design process. •
• Peak discovery: In this penultimate stage, positive
team results fl owing from design bring more Available as a download from Llamasoft.com.

38 June 2017 | Logistics News