Supply Chain Ideas That Never Worked

What This Article Covers

• George Plossl’s view on the trendiness of supply and production planning.
• The difficult spot that consultants often put companies in as they move from one trend to the next.
• How an infatuation with trends undermines sound planning

For what is supposedly a very “hard” and quantified field supply chain management seems to have a tendency for trendiness to influence decision makers.

Background

JIT, TQM, Lean, B2B marketplaces, Kanban, optimization, supply chain is filled with trendy concepts that influence decision makers (a strangely high percentage of which are Japanese in origin for some reason). In this quote George Plossl does a good job of explaining the penchant for trends that he saw in his consulting work.

Probably the greatest misconception is that the job of effective planning and control is primarily technical. The literature of the technical societies and the words of a few consultants have led many managers to believe that all they need for control are the right techniques in a system. Overselling sound and necessary techniques like MRP has certainly been a great disservice to hard-pressed managers. Interest in new techniques flares up like fads in clothing and sports. Too many managers seem to believe that they can buy their way out of trouble quickly by adopting the Japanese “Kanban” technique or the Israeli super mathematical “Optimal Production Technology.” Over-simplified solutions to complex problems, like jogging for better health and fad diets, continue to beguile many people unwilling to adopt the necessary changes in life-style so needed for achieving their real goals. Sound planning, effective execution of the plan and adequate control requires more than techniques and computer programs however elegant and expensive these may be. - George Plossl

References

“Production and Inventory Control: Applications,” George Plossl, George Plossl Education Services, 1983

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