eBusiness Weekly
In today’s business trends, most organisations try to gain a competitive and comparative advantage on the marketplace.
Some are striving for growth and some are striving for survival. In a VUCAH (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous and hostile) economy, conducting business is costly and less value is created.
Supply chain management is considered to be one of those critical issues and is playing a very crucial role in organisational success.
A sound supply chain system should have essential elements of visibility, collaboration and resilience.
The position of the supply chain function of an organisation is driven by many business processes and it depends with the industry and the organisational hierarchy.
Due to intense competition and modernisation, effective supply chain management systems are emerging and embraced by many organisations in trying to ease their business operations. In supply chain management, the leadership component is a very important business process and it is responsible for strategy formulation.
If supply chain strategies get executive buy in, then the implementation becomes critical and follow-ups can be done from top-level management hence making it easy to achieve competitive advantage.
The satisfaction of customers is determined by the level of value created in that consumption. The supply chain function of an organisation is merely confused with some business processes. The supply chain function success anchors organisational efficiency and effectiveness in its day-to-day.
Control of this function has caused problems in most organisations leading to poor implementation of corporate governance strategies.
In its execution, it has caused some disgruntlement within professionals in diverse industries.
Dilemma can have a number of meaning in English terms, but in order to understand our subject matter, we may take dilemma to mean a stumbling block, a puzzle and or critical situation in supply chain management and or business logistics.
The position charter of supply chain management is customer satisfaction. Satisfaction is said to have been achieved when all the customers defined needs are met by the suppliers coupled by the systems productivity.
The Supply Chain Association of Zimbabwe (SCAZ), implores corporates in Zimbabwe to embrace and control this business success philosophy.
We advocate for professionalism at all levels in all sectors of the economy of Zimbabwe. In circumventing supply chain inefficiencies, we highly recommend training and development of professionals and practitioners driving supply chains in order to understand, strategise and remain relevant in a VUCAH economy like Zimbabwe.
The ability of a supplier is imitated in his capacity both to see what criteria are relevant for current decisions, taking and using the criteria effectively.
Obviously, the capacity of suppliers varies in this respect and verdicts made in real-world, range from excellent to disastrous.
Corresponding to growth and prosperity for the firm at the upper end of the range and bankruptcy at the bottom.
Supply chain management is a management philosophy that involves the management of businesses processes that are in a supply chain to select and access the relevant variables, ordinary minds may grasp the facts and make the obvious calculations, computers can handle more variables and process them more swiftly than a human brain: but it is the flair of making good decisions, the capacity to have and follow through the successful “hunch” which makes out the great captains of supply chain management.
This being a rare gift, to the few, supply chain management having been affected by the current economic dilemma, a concept of outcome may have to be applied to sustain growth within the sector.
For just about everyone other than consultancy in supply chain management service, 2020 and 2021 have been horrendous years.
The transport and supply chain services were battered by economic slowdown, excess as well as unused capacity, falling yields, rising fuel prices and then comes the Covid-19 pandemic.
The resulting in traffic downturn which has pushed several small to medium companies over the brink, and left many of the largest undertakings with weak balance sheets and uncertain future.
Many in supply chain services hoped and still hope that positive news in food and mining industries may take a swift incremental demand from unpredicted depth just as we have seen recoveries in the oil industries after the past worldwide economic “lockdown”.
Unfortunately, these hopes are likely to be dashed although we still have faith in increased demand for consumables — but not until this Covid-19 pandemic can be under control in one way or other in the foreseeable future.
There are two reasons
which may be cited for this
1. Firstly, the economic recovery that may be expected might be fragile although consumer spending can be seen as the locomotive, fuelled largely by rising prices as a result of our week currency against all major currencies. Despite increase in technology, it is no joke that economics is more of psychology than ordinary numbers
2. Secondly, business investment, a key driver of logistics demand, show no sign of recovery.
Indeed, firms continue to slush capital spending in the face of unused and excess capacity in the manufacturing sectors resulting in a very uncertain economic outlook.
Looking beyond the pandemic, however, there may be a vertical diversification in the future approaches to supply chain management operations by say absorbing some excess and or unused capacity before firms begin spending again.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the global supply chain position is in a delicate position as most countries are encountering shortage of containers to transport their goods.
Firms will have to build inventories in earnest, driving demand for both intermediate and final products.
The roll supply chain management service play in economic and social lives of a population must not be underestimated since it bridges both time and geographical gap.
There must therefore be no hesitation in affirming clearly with regards to public opinion and public authorities that supply chain management in an integrated system can be a major functional variable in economic development and its stability for a nation.
As supply chain professionals we are all mandated to harness excellence in our day-to-day decision-making.
B.G Mtengwa & Marshal MangwiroSupply Chain Association of Zimbabwe Fostering Resilience in Supply Chains /Email :[email protected]/Whatsapp +263 712 874 246.
