Tired of Wash, Rinse and Repeat?

March 17, 2012
11:00 pm

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Do it again…. I think we are spinning.
As I watch the twitter streams and read the blogs, I feel strongly that we have a problem. Vendors are attempting to build content without research and there is a growing number of “supply chain experts.” I think what we really have is a growing gang of pundits.
The real-world Supply Chain professional has a short fuse for vendor-centered marketing messages and pundits. But, I think the larger issue is the research vacuum. There is just too little research being done on “What is Supply Chain Excellence.” I feel strongly that recirculating old information with a new spin is just confusing the subject.
My goal is to change this. This is why I launched my new company: Supply Chain Insights, LLC. I want to drive a transformation by pushing three forms of research: quantitative studies, launching the Supply Chain Index for financial benchmarking and allowing meaningful sharing for the supply chain professional in a Supply Chain Community.
We are now a team of five people. My first hire was a researcher. My second was a research intern. I intend to do 2-3 qualitative surveys a month, and I am currently harvesting 20 years of financial data from balance sheets. It is my plan to link the two so we can better understand how supply chain practices drive financial performance with industry specific data. This will take time, but you will see the first debut of the Supply Chain Index (SCI Index) in the Supply Chain Community that I will launch in June of 2012.
Bottom line: I am getting serious about putting research into the research model. Last week, we put our first survey into the field, and it is my hope to have three new ones launched by the end of this week. I am also doing research with APICS/IBF and Retail Connections. This research will enable me to publish the reports listed below under the principles of “open research.”

April 1. S&OP: Solving the Puzzle
April 10. What does it mean to be Market Driven?
April 15. Listening to the Voice of the Supply Chain Leader
May 1. S&OP and Agility. What does it mean?
May 15. Big Data Supply Chains. Go Big or Go Home.
June 1. The State of the SCM Infrastructure. What do I do?
June 15. Digital Path to Purchase. The Way Forward for Consumer Products
July 1. Demand Driven Manufacturing. What does it mean? Really?
July 15. Mobile. It Changes Everything.
August 1. Thirty Years of Supply Chain Management. What have we learned? A
Retrospective.
September 1. Safe and Secure Supply Chains. Fulfilling the Brand Promise.

These reports will publish in front of the firewall and we will post them on SlideShare. They will be available for everyone. No need to buy a subscription.
We have also signed a software license to launch a Supply Chain Community in June 2012. Currently, we are testing the hosted site and designing the community so that we can enrich, engage and educate the supply chain professional. This community is designed to enable a meaningful discussion for supply chain professionals around the world. It will be an open, membership community with no charge to join. The community will feature a supply chain Wiki, technology ratings and reviews, user-based recommendations on consultants, job postings, educational videos, and discussion boards. It will also allow easy access to the SCI Index. I will be featuring interviews of supply chain professionals on the book launch. It is still scheduled for August.
There is much more to tell about the community. We are EXCITED!!!! You will also hear more about the launch of the community directly from my community facilitator Good Karma. In this blog, I want to officially introduce her. She is shown at the left. <Doesn’t she have a great smile? > She will be leading the effort for member onboarding and community facilitation.
I think that it is time for a change. It is my goal to bring “research” back to the supply chain user community. I hope that you will help me. So, if you get one of my surveys in your inbox, please do me a favor, and take the time to fill it out. If you do, I promise you three things:

I will not spam your email box. I will send you no more than two surveys a year. And, you can opt-out of the survey on the form. We will be sad, but we will not bother you again.
If you respond, we will hold your responses confidential. I will not report your individual response or your company information without your permission. If you answer the survey, and you want a custom cut of the data for internal purposes, please send me your request. I will try to accommodate. The data summaries will be posted on SlideShare.
You will not be disappointed in the reports. My fingers are aching to move on from writing this book to getting back to writing research reports. I think the industry needs some hard-hitting data again. And, I am ready.

Please send me your thoughts. And, if you want to help us give REAL research to the market and participate in our quantitative and qualitative research, just send me an email at lora.cecere@supplychaininsights.com.
And, welcome Good Karma. You will be hearing more from her in the upcoming weeks as we launch the Supply Chain Insights website and our new corporate blog. If you have any ideas for her, please send her an email at good.karma@supplychaininsights.com.
Tonight, I sit in my hotel room in Orlando. I am gearing up to cover the SAP Insider event. You can follow my tweets @lcecere under hashtag #SCM2012. Please send me your questions. And, if you are here, let’s hook up. Drop me a line at lora.cecere@supplychaininsights.com.

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I think the analogy applies to today’s supply chains.

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Supply Chain Shaman