This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Interview Supply Chain
CONTENTS
The human element
page 40-41
Manufacturing & Logistics IT spoke with Andrew Killick,
Taking collaborative
logistics to the next
Infor’s head of business consulting for supply chain
level management, about how companies often need to consider
human factors concerning their optimum supply chain network
page 42-33
design, and not simply rely on mathematical calculation.
Leap of faith
n order to optimise their business and elsewhere,” he said. “You could give this
page 44-45
I
operational efficiencies, many manufacturers chairman every spreadsheet in the world, but
Five resolutions
look to ensure that their factories and there is often a valuable sentimental aspect within
distribution centres are best positioned to be the equation that often cannot be ignored.”
as cost-effective as possible in a number of
page 46-47
ways; including expenditure concerning labour Community spirit
Major transportation
and transportation. With this in mind, many There are often community factors to consider
management benefits
organisations set about considering where they too. “For example, what if your software solution’s
for Global Eyes
should consider closing down existing factories mathematics tells you to close down a factory
and where to build replacements. that is the very lifeblood of a village or town in
page 48
Europe, Asia, India or wherever,” said Killick.
Aeronautical Design &
High-cost factors “Think of the potential social upheaval that could
Development Centre
There are many software solutions on the market take place if a whole community is reliant on that
partnership that are geared to help manufacturers make factory for its livelihood – and also think of the
substantial savings through offering complex bad PR fallout that could befall the company if it
mathematical calculations related to total cost of were publicly vilified for having put pure financial
page 49
ownership. However, Infor’s Andrew Killick gain above the interests of its long-serving and
The ideal vehicle for
maintains that, while the best of these systems loyal workforce. This may be an extreme
transportation
efficiency
can reap major benefits, the company must often example, but one that certainly needs to be
think beyond operating costs; also considering considered.” Killick added that a software
factors such as fixed cost. “A company should solution such as Infor’s SCM Network Design
not simply decide to close one factory in Eastern considers both capital and ongoing cost, rather
Europe and move to, say, Asia, and expect the than just ongoing, and can also consider the
unit price to be automatically lowered; the human element in decision making and not
company also has to consider other high-cost purely dictate supply chain network design from
factors, such as redundancies,” he explained. a purely mathematical and objective standpoint.
Sentimental aspect Killick concluded by arguing that the best placed
The second important aspect to supply chain network design solutions on the
bear in mind, according to Killick, market are those that have the flexibility of
is that mathematics is not people. functionality not just to steer a company’s supply
“If the maths suggests that a chain network policy on the basis of cold
company should close down a algorithmic calculations. “The software solution of
particular manufacturing plant choice should be one that is able to apply common
that is where the chairman has sense, in the same way that a human is capable
grown up and developed the of doing. The fact is that companies can aim to
business, I really wouldn’t want to minimise their total supply chain costs as effectively
be the supply chain director who as possible, but from time to time they will simply
walks in to the boardroom and have to leave things alone or work around them,
suggests that they move even if the maths tells them otherwise.” circlesolid
Andrew Killick: The software solution of choice should be one that is able
to apply common sense, in the same way that a human is capable of doing.
www.logisticsit.com
MANUFACTURING
March 2009 &LOGISTICSIT
39
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56
Produced with Yudu - www.yudu.com