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tackle problems in isolation from each other without un- derstanding the interactions that often exist between them. In other words, problems are addressed in quite a piecemeal manner rather than in a logical and systemat- ic way. All of the above factors have contributed to the development of a strong emphasis on planning and ex- ecution activities in logistics and SCM, including the de- ployment of appropriate technology enablers, but with little focus on supply chain design.
this less than perfect lot. We do what we can in terms of planning and execution to mitigate the built in de cien- cies. The adoption of engineering and design principles in logistics and SCM has the potential to facilitate a fun- damental rethinking of current thinking and lead to the radical redesign of supply chain logistics architectures and con gurations. Two examples of this relate to sys- tems thinking in supply chain design and re-engineering and three dimensional concurrent engineering (3DCE).
Companies have long realised the need for compa- ny-wide approaches to organisation design and re- design. The development of systems engineering ap- proaches to manufacturing system redesign in the 1970s and 1980s was followed by the focus on organisational re-engineering, often based on business processes, in the 1990s and 2000s. A common feature of all of these approaches is a recognition that “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. In other words, optimising subsystems (whether those subsystems are functional departments, production sites or individual processes in the manufacturing cycle) can result in a sub-optimised total system. There are numerous examples of compa- nies who have generated signi cant improvements in competitive advantage as a result of the application of this “total systems” thinking.
One critical weakness of these traditional compa- ny-wide business improvement models is that they fo- cus largely on a company’s internal operations and busi- ness processes. As a result of the increasingly complex global supply chains of which companies are part, im- proving one’s own business is no guarantee of success in today’s business environment. The systems approach to supply chain design and/or re-engineering is an ex- tension of traditional systems approaches beyond the operations of an individual company to the wider sup- ply chain. It is about analysing the existing con gura- tion of a supply chain, planning improvements to that con guration and then putting these improvements into practice. In short, Supply chain design/re-engineering = analysis + planning + implementation.
We call it the systems approach for two reasons. First- ly, we want our supply chains to display the characteris- tics of a system. One dictionary describes a system as “a set of connected things or parts; an organised group of things; orderliness”. The italics are mine because they highlight those aspects of the de nition which provide some pointers to problems which exist in supply chains and, hence, to the type of change which might be re- quired. In other words, we want: the different elements of our supply chain to be connected effectively: our sup- ply chain to be properly organised in a logical manner; and, the overall architecture to be characterised by or- derliness. Secondly, we should tackle the re-engineer- ing task in a systematic manner with dedicated resourc- es and with proper attention to detail. This typically requires an appropriate combination of top-down and
Engineering the way forward
Systems thinking in supply chain improvement
All of the above raises the question of how best rms can move forward in addressing the many challenges that they face. A good place to start would be by asking the right question:
What is the optimum supply chain configuration given that I have certain unique strengths and weak- nesses, and that the market and the wider business environment are likely to throw up particular oppor- tunities and threats?
My contention is that developing a sensible answer to this question requires us to adopt an engineering ap- proach.
What is engineering and what do engineers do? Ac- cording to the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE):
• Engineers make things, they make things work and they make things work better.
• Engineersusetheircreativitytodesignsolutions to the world’s problem.
• Engineershelpbuildthefuture.
These concepts are all vitally important if meaningful change is to be made possible in addressing our logis- tics and supply chain challenges. Engineering is not just about science and technology. Yes, it does have a strong scienti c basis but it also requires – as noted by the RAE – a high level of creativity. A cursory glance of the great engineering achievements in history give testament to this fact. My own educational and career history provides further evidence of this. For example, I hold the degree of BAI from the University of Dublin. This peculiarly Trinity quali cation – the Baccalaureus in Arte Ingeniaria or Bachelor in the Art of Engineering – recognises that engineering is fundamentally about the effective marriage of scienti c rigour with the crea- tivity inherent in the arts. Interestingly, a number of fa- mous holders of the BAI gained their reputation more in the creative arts than in the scienti c realm (notably the composer Percy French and the artist Nathaniel Hone the Younger).
In short, my contention is that dealing with logistics and supply chain complexity (the “new normal”) re- quires a focus on effective application of robust engi- neering design principles. Such principles are evident in the design of complex products in, for example, the automotive, consumer electronics and aerospace sec- tors, but appear to be quite lacking in logistics and SCM. Don Hicks of Llamasoft contends that most sup- ply chains are a “series of historical accidents” and are un t for purpose. We all work hard to make the best of
THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF LOGISTICS & TRANSPORT 19
EDWARD SWEENEY