The past 35 years have been relatively stable (the Cold War ended, global trade increased and both major U.S. political parties signed trade agreements). In this relatively stable world with relatively stable global growth, supply chain management – at least in most of the retail ag space – is generally tasked with providing superior customer service at the lowest possible cost. These tasks create internal tensions between procurement, operations, sales, and finance.
At the same time, concepts such as “just-in-time” (JIT) buzzed through corporations. Today, our supply chains are full (literally), and an argument can be made that our world is somewhat less stable. The Covid-19 pandemic surfaced many supply chain challenges that were likely already on the horizon.
Now, leadership and supply chain managers must ask: “Do current supply chain capabilities align if more disruption and instability lie ahead?” If not, can we create resilient, agile, and flexible supply chains that maintain high levels of customer service while controlling cost?