Supply Chain Management For SMBs

aj — Sat, 24 May 2008 20:31:26 GMT

I recently had the pleasure to meet Chris Norek. He’s a Senior Partner at Supply Chain Connectors, a consulting firm for small and mid-sized manufacturing businesses (SMBs). In the short time I spent with Chris sharing a drink at a neighborhood watering hole, I learned 3 very important things:

First, he’s tall. I’m not, so you may not think so. But he’s playin’ the paint, as far as I’m concerned.

Second, he’s smart, credentialed, and well heeled. He’s been around the heavyweight academic and corporate blocks, leading up to a Ph.D. in logistics and transportation from THE Ohio State University.

Third, he’s pragmatic - which you don’t often find in consultants, much less those of the supply chain variety.

I get passed a lot of articles from authors looking for a plug. Chris e-mailed me with a link to an article that he and some colleagues (Wesley Gass, and Thomas Jorgenson) wrote for Supply Chain Management Review (published this past March).

SMB? You Can Transform Your Supply Chain, Too is a wonderful piece that any SMB should take the time to read and digest.

The article lays out the challenges that all SMBs face with regard to supply chain management:

Decentralized Supply Chain Organization
Lack of Economies of Scale
Lack of Consistent Business Processes (which likely relates directly to #1)
Supply Chain Technology Concerns
Ability to Attract Top Talent
Lack of Significant Capital for Investment

Fair enough. Many consultants (and bloggers, publishers and pundits, for that matter) do a great job of pointing out the challenges. But where Chris et. al. distinguish themselves is in describing in lucid terms what can advantages SMBs have to overcome those challenges:

SMBs can use the supply chain to keep acquiring companies at bay
SMBs can use outsourcing to expand geographic coverage
SMBs have greater flexibility to implement supply chain management

The article goes on to offer advice on when and how to adjust internal processes to capitalize on the agility that SMBs can leverage as an advantage, compared to larger enterprises encumbered by bureaucracy and mass-in-motion.

Chris and his peeps are involved in a 3-day event at Georgia Tech University called Developing Supply Chain Strategies for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses. This is an event that any SMB – particularly SMBs in the manufacturing space – should consider to get their supply chain management house in order.

Growth across borders and disciplines is imperative for manufacturers of any size to survive these days. These cats are an awfully good place to start, or to up your game in the paint if you think you’re already there.

MFGx Blog

Supply Chain Management For SMBs