Perseverance Pays in the Innovation Game

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the May-June 2014 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

May-June 2014

Getting the most from Sales and Operations Planning is a combination of people, processes, and technology. The Red Wing Shoe Company details the steps it took to improve S&OP processes, slash its S&OP planning efforts by 50 percent, and align manufacturing with sales—all while growing its business.

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You are grappling with age-old questions: What should my supply chain look like in the future? What new innovation can I apply to lower costs, increase service levels, and disrupt competitors?

Then it hits you—that new technology you read about recently is the answer. Applied to your supply chain, it will not only reap millions in savings, but your supply chain team will immediately move out of the corporate basement it currently occupies and climb the management ladder of success. Adoring senior executives from across the organization will want to emulate you by applying the new technology to innovate within their function.

Snap out of it!

That story line works in Hollywood but not in the real world. The vast majority of initiatives that qualify as a supply chain innovation (SCI) will not come from “light bulb” revelations. Instead, most will come from a series of incremental changes and continuous improvement initiatives in response to competitive pressures and market dynamics.

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