Expectation Management and Supply Chain Collaboration

Expectation management and supply chain collaboration

During the Speeddocking Conference (June 2015) in the Netherlands, prof. Jacques van der Veen (professor Supply Chain Management at Nyenrode) held an interesting speech on the development of Supply Chain Managent towards 2025. A special emphasis was placed on the leadership of the supply chain manager –in relation to the theory of Alan Page Fiske (1992) - especially when the trend towards collaboration in the value chain is becoming present. There is a trend or even a high need however towards more sharing, more leadership coaching and ultimately more collaboration.

Collaboration in the supply chain and its leadership is interesting as it boils down on how supply chain managers interact with other stakeholders like suppliers, customers and internal departments. In my recent blog of April 2015 I wrote about ‘expectation management’ and procurement but eventually realizing that the supply chain function is also in need for a better understanding of the dynamics in the supply chain between partners – and not only focussing on ‘short term thinking’ and cost reductions.

In the dynamics of the supply chain the results – whether it is lower working capital, lower total costs of ownership or improved customer service- are determined also by perceived expectation and real expectation of collaboration between stakeholders. How do supply chain managers interact, communicate, share information and jointly realize their (joint) goals? How do supply chain managers balance the interest of all stakeholders and how are they dealing with societal and environmental impacts?

Interesting to see that there are solutions in place to ‘measure and monitor’ the results of collaboration within and across (stakeholders of) companies. I have mentioned this already in my latest blog and these measures – based on the PDCA cycle (plan, do , check, act) - provide the full insight on expectation management between stakeholders. Interesting to share is that the ISO9001-2015 norm covers large portion of the elements of expectation management already.

By understanding and using ‘expectation management’ and embracing collaboration in the value chain, it is possible to achieve greater and more sustainable results and leads towards a different kind of supply chain management. In many industries e.g. retail, food-sector etc. this can be applied. Are we ready for the future in supply chain and procurement?