It is clear that an excellent supply chain should be designed and operated to ensure alignment between effective supply chain business practices and the competitive strategy of the company.
As an agro-food sector specialist, I have to say that the company leadership should define the business strategy, operating model, operational performance objectives and talent management process in a competitive way.
I have managed many GAPs' projects (Good Agricultural Practices) in Turkey for the supply of the organic apple, pear, peach, broccoli, plum, potato, wheat, corn , etc. So that, we improved the competitiveness, growth and quality of products of the SMEs, private sector and farmers in different regions of Turkey. We provided EU conforming conventional and organic fruits, vegetables and cereals from Turkey and eliminated the imports and saved a lot of money. This is an example of the excellence in supply chain management.
Now let’s look at the competitive strategy elements and supporting model characteristics of excellent supply chain?
Ensuring food authenticity and avoid food adulteration. Creating new packaging to prolong the shelf life and reduce the spoilage and oxidation.Providing long shelf life and maintain freshness and minimize the use of additives. Improving the cold chain and prolong the shelf life of products and reduce the energy consumption. Entering farming systems and practices that use low agrochemicals. Increasing efficiency in processes and energy use.Improving water use efficiency in food manufacturing. Reducing waste and reusing of waste material. Creating products for healthy living and aging.Introducing nutraceuticals and healthy foods. Introducing low salt, low fat and low sugar foods. Launching products for specific consumer groups. Performing overall increase in plant and animal productivity and farm output. Entering to the markets of developing countries. Increasing the growing fields of the fruits and vegetablesIncreasing plant and animal production in urban or enclosed environments. Developing and launching high quality convenience foods. Educating the people and extending agricultural activities and developing countries to increase the supply.
The operational performance of the supply chain should be measured and evaluated in three groups;
Customer response: Company should develop and implement measures such as order cycle time, perfect order fill rates, product quality, and new product time to market. Efficiency: They have to assess supply chain capability for converting inputs into outputs. I believe that companies should focus on labor productivity, labor content, cost of supply chain, and waste to improve their costs and competitive power against peers. Asset utilization: Company should focus on how effectively facilities and inventories are being used.
I believe that company leaders should take necessary measures to create excellence in their supply chain by regarding their most important 3 competing priorities; quality, customization and price and applying a long-term innovation management.
Comentários