Write your personal statements on number one and two and separate your answer and ask question on each.

Essay 1 and 2 are related.

1) Supply Chain Traits

     Many times we have heard individuals or groups pitch the idea of a supply chain that might be new to the organization as a startup or as part of an existing entity.  Just as a bicycle chain needs a functional chain in order to revolve, all companies need a supply chain to keep the business moving.  While one may think that they have little to no use for a supply chain, they basically need to look no further than the bottom line on their annual profit and loss statement to see the results.  Each part of a chain needs to be connected to another part in order to move.  If one part of the chain comes apart, the entire revolution of the chain comes to a screeching halt.  Therefore, we have a leader part of the chain and then the followers thus creating a strong team

     Of the ten supply chain traits, proper leadership carries the most weight.  A company may put the duties of the supply chain with their chief engineer or maybe even the vice-president of operations.  Regardless, the bottom line is that it will take a strong leader to dissect the process and make plans to keep the company successful.  With that, of all the traits of a supply chain, we all know that it takes a special leader who can produce a sound strategy in order to be effective.  Roughly 20 years ago, the new buzz words in the company hallways were the words supply chain management.  When most people heard the word supply they immediately thought that this referred to the lady or gentleman that worked out back on the dock.  Supply chain management did not have a seat at the big table and therefore had no voice or vision in the inner workings of the company itself.  Soon thereafter, most company chief executives learned that with a strong leader at the helm of the supply chain, the bottom lines on profits made a crucial pivot upwardly.  By 2008, most companies had put together a strategic plan that included goals and objectives (Poirer, Quinn, & Swink, 2009).  As a result, the cost of goods sold decreased while the price to produce the goods themselves were lowered due to effective spending, receiving, storage and transportation costs.

     An out of control supply chain only serves to decrease profit margins and increase overhead costs regardless of the nature of the business.  A strong supply chain leader knows how to cut across organizational boundaries where one section is only thinking of themselves versus the overall mission of the company (Wharton University of Pennslyvannia, 2006).  Have you worked in an organization where you basically had to scrape and scrounge for copy paper and pencils to use for work?  Do you think this may be the result of a poorly organized supply chain with a weak leader?

References

Poirer, C. C., Quinn, F., & Swink, M. (2009). Diagnosis Greatness: Ten traits of the Best Supply Chains. J. Ross Publishing, Inc.

Wharton University of Pennslyvannia. (2006, September 6). Avoiding the Cost of Inefficiency: Coordination and Collaboration in Supply Chain Management. Knowledge@Wharton, p. 1.2) Some of the most successful companies in the world today have something in common; they have continued to look for ways to improve their supply chain management process.  Companies like Apple, Dell, IBM, and Wal-Mart are just a few of the top 25 companies that are consider to be leaders when it comes to how they use their supply chain management systems to help with continued growth and success.  In this week's reading assignment list ten traits of the leaders that make their supply chain stand out over their competitors. The ten traits are as follow:

1. Sound strategy supported by solid leadership

2. Intense focus on financial metrics

3. Commitment to innovation and process improvement

4. Close collaboration with select partners

5. Superior strategic sourcing

6. Excellence in logistics execution

7. Proficiency in planning and responsiveness

8. High customer integration and satisfaction

9. Ability to anticipate and manage risk

10. Global optimization (Poirier C., Quinn, F. & Swink, M., 2010).

     The research show that the company's who are considered to be leaders in supply chain management can see more that 50 percent higher net margins, higher returns on stock prices, 30 percent less in working capital and sales, and 46 percent greater market-value-to-asset ratio (Poirier C., Quinn, F. & Swink, M., 2010).  These numbers show how important a company's supply chain can be to the overall success of a company.  The question I have for the class is this, why would company's not invest in their own supply chain management  systems  like Wal-Mart, and Cisco when these companies supply chain system are the keys to their success?

References

Poirier, Charles C. & Quinn, Francis J. & Swink, Morgan L.. (2010). Diagnosing
greatness: ten traits of the best supply chains. Available
from http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/toc.aspx?bookid=37806.