We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » the mess in the middle
big picture

the mess in the middle

November 1, 2004
Peter Bradley
No Comments

"The mess in the middle." That's one chief executive's description of the supply chain, or to be precise, his customer's description of the supply chain. At the recent Council of Logistics Management conference in Philadelphia, Chris Munro, CEO of Inoveris Inc., told a seminar audience that one of his customers had used that phrase to describe the confusion that logistics professionals must sort out each day. Anyone who has tried to manage a complex supply chain will understand why: It's hard enough to mesh internal processes, never mind to coordinate the actions of an array of suppliers and satisfy large numbers of customers.

At least, said John Langley, a professor of supply chain management at Georgia Tech and moderator of that particular seminar, the executive quoted by Munro recognized that the supply chain was an important link between his oil and gas fields and the final customer. For all too many executives, the supply chain remains an amorphous term and logistics a pesky but relatively minor cost center, unworthy of a senior executive's attention.

That's why managers across the supply chain, whether they're responsible for transportation or distribution or some other logistics function, need to learn to speak the language of the executive suite. They need to find ways to frame what they do in terms that attract senior management's interest.

During a presentation preceding the panel discussion, Rick Jackson, executive vice president of logistics and supply chain engineering for Limited Distribution Services, reminded logistics professionals that they were responsible for communicating to C-level executives how their decisions drive cost. Logistics and supply chain pros, he said, see things end to end in ways that others do not. That is, logistics pros understand better than most how a decision made by someone in sourcing or sales will ripple through the company, often with unintended consequences.

Still, Jackson warned, supply chain managers must not forget that their role is to support the initiatives of the enterprise. Nicholas LaHowchic, president and CEO of Limited Brands Logistics Services and one of the panelists, said logistics professionals first have to understand where the company leadership is trying to go and then determine how to enable that. "Merchants think about what is selling, and not how it got there," he said. And guaranteed, they're not thinking about how management of the supply chain affects sales, top- and bottom-line growth, and share price. Show them that, and you'll get their attention.

Supply Chain Services Business Management & Finance
  • Related Articles

    Is Less More? How to Add the Most Value to Sortation Capacity in the Middle Mile

    Malcom in the middle

    New operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Peterbradley
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.

Recent Articles by Peter Bradley

From temp to management: interview with Diane Garforth

Watching over intermodal's interests: interview with Joni Casey

Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Private equity firm acquires packaging provider Coregistics in e-commerce bet

  • Trucking industry warns that AB 5 decision could push freight capacity out of California

  • Packaging industry reprioritizes amid inflation, supply chain disruption

  • Warehousing's perfect storm

  • Raymond Corp. marks 100th anniversary

Now Playing on DCV-TV

E3f9e6d5 8bd4 40ca 8c7f 43aa63ea3fc9

Lessons from CSCMP’s Annual Report Card for Shippers and Carriers

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Recently, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) released their 33rd Annual State of Logistics Report which is created by AT Kearny. I've viewed this as basically a "Report Card" for shippers and carriers since it offers a comprehensive view of what they both have dealt with in the past year,...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Breaking Bad: Conducting Full Truckload RFPs in the Age of Digital Freight Procurement

  • Fueling Sustainability for Manufacturers: Strategies to Increase Fuel Efficiency and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

  • Guide to Proven Warehouse Solutions

  • Five common misconceptions about running a private fleet

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2022. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing