It’s only July, but already most of us are putting together strategies and budgets for next year. And if there’s one lesson we’ve learned in the past few years, it’s that we can no longer do things just because we’ve always done them. For top managers, in the logistics business as well as in other industries, it should be second nature to wipe the planning slate clean and start afresh every year.
To our surprise, the usually conservative retail industry has embraced this tactic with alacrity. “Trendspotting” is now common in most direct-commerce businesses; marketers frequently revise their products and services in response to changing consumer needs. Technologies are discarded and adopted at a fast clip. Universities, research firms, and retailers are banding together to set up, for instance, RFID research labs, focus groups, studies of consumer behavior, technology impact analyses, “virtual” retail environments, and warehouse performance simulations.
The idea, therefore, is to keep your gaze firmly fixed on that crystal ball as you outline your vision for next year. To get you started, here are some steps that our prophetic experts say you might be wise to take:
- Measure supply chain processes
If your operation can show a quantifiable connection between supply chain efficiency and corporate profit, your company will be the darling of Wall Street. Look to trade groups such as the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals for benchmarks for logistics measurements, activity-based costing, and “balanced scorecard” analyses.
- Add value
As one 3PL executive puts it, “In the past, you could charge extra for something like labeling. Now customers will lay that task out in an RFP and you’re expected to carry it out at no extra cost.” Your facility could be expected to do anything from light manufacturing to process reengineering to hazmat handling.
- Hire incredibly smart people
Supply chain management jobs are newly glamorous; a whole body of research has sprung up to advance the “science” of recruiting logistics all-stars. Employment tests have become highly sophisticated, rigorous, and selective.
- Develop a global perspective
Your business may not be large enough yet for you to care about offshoring or sourcing from abroad. But as many economic pundits have told us, much of the future belongs to countries in Asia and Europe. Ignore them at your own risk.