The research conducted in 2004 covered 104 companies from Denmark, Finland, France, Israel, Germany, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Italy. More than half of the respondents were manufacturers of durable goods and FMCG, whose annual turnover ranged from 15 to 300 million euros. Previous studies by the ELC group showed a varied approach to the issue of logistics in enterprises. Three levels of advancement in building the company’s logistics structures were identified: 1. development of multifunctional supply chain management teams. Companies have supply chain management teams whose operations reach the management level. The activities of such teams represent a significant change in traditional management systems, 2. development of supply chain management strategy. Companies appoint middle-level managers for supply chain management. These managers are responsible for distribution operations and ad-hoc logistics management. However, their teams do not constitute independent units, 3. development of supply chain management thinking. Thinking about the concept and mechanisms of supply chain management is in its infancy. SCM functions are merely a certain development of the activities of logistics teams, focused on warehousing, physical distribution, and other traditional aspects of logistics. Companies are increasingly noticing logistics costs across the entire supply chain, but the traditional data recording systems used provide limited transparency of the processes taking place. The last 15 years of cyclical research by the ELC group have shown a growing interest of enterprises in logistics with a simultaneous shift from production costs to value added in the logistics chain, as well as a greater orientation towards demand. This trend has resulted in many concepts, such as Total Quality Management (TQM) or Business Process Reengineering (BPR). Their goal was, among other things, the elimination of unnecessary activity, occurring particularly at the intersection of various functions in management processes. Research conducted by Logistics Management Magazine in 2002 showed that almost 80% of senior corporate managers are looking for additional information on logistics chains, and 63% of them declared an intention to devote more time to strategic planning related to this issue. Comparing the above data with the results of ELC research, which shows that 50% of companies have created supply chain management teams, indicates how long a road still lies ahead for enterprises. The nature of the logistics chain implies the necessity of managing many processes within various organizations and technologies. Therefore, chain transparency is extremely important, which can be achieved, among other things, by using appropriate measures. In today’s economic environment, the need for such transparency results from many factors, including:
– the diversity of entities participating in the chain managed by individual companies,
– globalization of production and procurement,
– segmentation of distribution channels,
– the increasing number of offers containing value added in the chain as an element of gaining a competitive advantage.
In such an environment, only 46% of respondents rated the way information is exchanged in the company as good, and 20% as poor. In 34% of companies, the information management system was rated as adequate. For these very companies, the main task became increasing the efficiency of the logistics chain. Recently emerging IT tools facilitate this task, while simultaneously enabling activities such as SCEM (Supply Chain Event Management). Such programs offer a framework around which modules enabling real-time data analysis are integrated, providing transparency and the ability to manage the chain according to the rules set for the program.
– globalization of production and procurement,
– segmentation of distribution channels,
– the increasing number of offers containing value added in the chain as an element of gaining a competitive advantage.
In such an environment, only 46% of respondents rated the way information is exchanged in the company as good, and 20% as poor. In 34% of companies, the information management system was rated as adequate. For these very companies, the main task became increasing the efficiency of the logistics chain. Recently emerging IT tools facilitate this task, while simultaneously enabling activities such as SCEM (Supply Chain Event Management). Such programs offer a framework around which modules enabling real-time data analysis are integrated, providing transparency and the ability to manage the chain according to the rules set for the program.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 5/2006.