Devising a coherent supply chain strategy may be taxing the minds of many procurement executives, but many are still struggling to achieve their aims. Not my words, but those of Stanley Fewcett and Gregory Magnan, the authors of a recently published CAPS Research Focus Study, ‘Achieving World-Class Supply Chain Collaboration: Managing the Transformation’.

According to their research, managers are spending more time than ever before evaluating supply chain-enabled business models. Despite this Fawcett and Magnan claim that only a handful of companies have developed fully integrated collaborative capability, whilst for the majority supply chain collaboration remains “ad hoc” and “fragmented”.

And the report’s authors warn that those companies who are failing to develop their supply chain strategy are in danger of being left behind by the competition.

But fear not, the authors have taken the time to provide a three-step process to highlight the benefits of companies pursuing a collaborative supply chain approach.

These are; introspection – the way companies view and interact with their customers and their systems thinking orientation; Supply chain design – which is a five stage process incorporating scanning, mapping, costing, competency/outsourcing management and rationalisation; and Supply chain collaboration – which refers to the methods used to drive the transformation, including relationship alignment, information sharing, performance measurement, people empowerment and collaborative learning.

Fawcett and Magnan have used their data to compile a supply chain collaboration benchmarking diagnostic, and if their findings are anything to go by, it’s going to prove a very useful tool indeed.