MANAGING SUPPLY CHAINS THROUGH BUMPY TERRAIN - RANGE ROVER Vs FERRARI: What is your choice at this time?

Forethought: One can never be fully prepared for an unforeseen situation such as COVID-19; nevertheless, we are in awe of the disruption caused by this pandemic and are wondering if most Supply Chains was ever prepared and ready for even the least disruptive bump! Was it ever resilient? 

To illustrate the above theme, and as a lover of good and affordable cars (as per Procurement blood), I developed a simple table that compares Range Rover Autobiography with a Ferrari 812 Superfast.

From the above evaluation criteria; which was carefully selected to illustrate the theme of this discussion, it is clear that Ferrari outperforms Range Rover in some criteria – Generally and to most car lovers, Ferrari will be regarded as a better car. It is faster, more sleek, stronger engine, better torque, etc. However, you’ll notice that for the highlighted criteria namely SAFETY & TERRAIN MANAGEMENT, Range Rover is far better than Ferrari.

WHICH IS YOUR CHOICE AT THIS TIME?

In the current situation, we need Range Rover supply chains; polished and sleek but with the ability to move fast, hit speed bumps (disruptions) without easily falling off, unlike Ferrari. It’s got seat belt and child safety locks to ensure that when you hit those bumps, you or your child will not jump off the car or smash your body against the car. It also has a better speed control.

The Range Rover is equipped with fog light for visibility should you encounter unclear terrain. More than ever, our supply chain needs visibility – we need real-time up-to-date information up and down the supply chain for better planning, forecasting, and agility. Those with better supply chain visibility are most likely better positioned to manage the current uncertainty

Afterthoughts: One is not actually better than the other, just that one will be more appropriate than the other in different conditions.

The challenge is the ability to swiftly retro-fit Ferrari with those missing capabilities to be able to provide the level of safety and terrain management posessed by Range Rover -which is what is required at this time!

This is already happening with some manufacturing plants redesigning and retrofitting their production lines to produce essential materials such as personal protective equipment and ventilators. Some other firms such as Cisco whose major manufacturing was at the epicenter of the outbreak (Asia) was able to quickly turn their secondary/alternative assembly plants at other locations into full fledge manufacturing lines to serve customers.

Summary: The pandemic has revealed that there is limited focus on supply chain risk management; perhaps we are too consumed with the day to day firefighting and Business as Usual that we did not give risk management the level of attention it deserves.

The aim is not to blame or downplay any supply chain strategy but to activate a rethinking around how we design and implement our supply chain strategy.

Credit: Range Rover Vs Ferrari Supply Chain Analogy was adapted from Dr. Daniel Stanton (Mr. Supply Chain).

Thanks,

Ify.