Qualified support for change projects through sound supply chain consulting helps companies to build up best-practice knowledge in a short space of time and reach their goals more quickly and reliably. Tailor-made consulting approaches are particularly in demand among SMEs in order to overcome specific challenges. In this article, we take a look at the key aspects of supply chain consulting, the strategies for increasing efficiency and the current trends that help companies achieve their goals. An interview with Karsten Schaaf, Managing Director at Datacider's redpoint.teseon.
Datacider's redpoint.teseon specializes in the field of supply chain management, and many of your customers are SMEs: What challenges do your consultants have to expect when they come to the company they are advising?
First of all, these companies are extremely results-oriented and want to see implementation success in a short space of time. At the same time, however, the project costs - both internal and external - should not be too high. We therefore have to work in smaller teams with our customers and proceed very efficiently.
In addition, there are always reservations about external consultants - some of them justified, some of them unjustified. It is crucial for the success of a project that our consultants succeed in building trust with the client's employees and management through their professional and social skills.
Another point seems important to me: our projects practically always intervene in the organization and have a strong change character. Our consultants need to understand what makes organizations tick and what people go through in such change processes.
How do you proceed with a new consulting project?
Ideally, we have the opportunity to start with a strategy process in order to work out the change objectives clearly from the corporate or competitive strategy. We then move on to the as-is analysis, which is usually unpopular with customers.
However, this phase is extremely important for us in order to gain an insight into the company and understand in detail where the customer stands in their organizational development. Only then can we arrive at the best possible solution in the subsequent target concept phase. The target concept is followed by implementation and transfer assurance.
You once said elsewhere that you pursue a systemic approach: What do you mean by that?
Ultimately, the solution developed must match the maturity level and resources of the company. Theoretically speaking, the second-best solution is often the better one if it is supported by the organization and the people.
What trends do you currently see in supply chain management and what does this mean for companies?
Most German industrial companies today have a global or at least international footprint that needs to be mastered. Virtually all of them are struggling with the fact that value chains are becoming increasingly fragmented and complex.
For example, the fragmentation of distribution channels is increasing. On the product side, the number of variants and parts is constantly increasing. Without production or procurement in low-wage countries, it is usually not possible to achieve competitive manufacturing costs. In future, volatility will be the rule, not the exception.
This increasing complexity means that processes that worked well in the past are becoming increasingly cumbersome and suddenly no longer work. At some point, the entire organization can really crumble. In business terms, this can be seen in unsatisfactory delivery performance, excessive capital commitment or high overheads. Managers are therefore faced with the challenge of adapting their company to this new complexity.
Risks are, of course, always an opportunity. At Datacider's redpoint.teseon, we have formulated ten fields of action with which significant competitive advantages can be achieved in a volatile environment. One example of this is the optimal segmentation of supply chains from product development to distribution in order to better manage the differences between customer requirements and products.
What advantages does lean supply chain management offer the respective company?
So, lean supply chain management is first and foremost a buzzword. The idea behind it is to intelligently combine and further develop the SCM approach with ideas from lean management. Many managers and consultants are often too dogmatic in their approach and use the same recipes over and over again. German companies are in a special competitive situation and need to be more innovative here; imitation alone will not suffice.
