Supply Chain World Series
I love sports analogies, especially when it comes to business. I bring this up because, and this is a true story, I recently was involved in a living example of a sports analogy in the business world. Recently, I was flying home from vacation this and struck up a conversation with the person in the aisle next to me.
He was traveling with the actual Kansas City Royals World Series trophy and had it buckled in the seat next to him. I had to ask why he was traveling with the trophy. He told me he was taking it the teams farm system for two reasons. First, to thank them for their support in helping build a championship team. Second, to motivate them to continue their work in supporting the team.
I shared this story with my boss and he equated it to an OEM sharing the rewards with their supply chain. So the sports analogy relates to business as both professional sports and businesses have a supply chain. I was incredibly disappointed that I, a lover of sports analogies, did not see it and was in the middle of it.
This gentleman with the trophy had visited his team's Triple A, Double A and Single A teams. In business terms, this would be an OEM visiting Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers. He took the trophy to show it off both as a reward for work well done and for inspiration to the up and coming prospects.
If you think about it, the World Series Trophy is likely a direct result of successfully managing the farm teams. Similarly, success in business can be directly linked to successfully managing a supply chain. An OEM should think of their supply chain as a farm system, similarly dedicated to winning. I don't know this for a fact, but I would surmise the major league team, or OEM, has a mission to win the World Series and claim the trophy. That mission would be shared throughout their entire supply chain and everyone involved at all levels would dedicate themselves to completing the mission. Those teams who are successful have done a great job of creating a mission, or strategy, communicating it to the farm system, or supply chain, and then shares the reward of that mission.
I could easily go on for hours about this analogy as I stated how much I like sports analogies. However, I would much rather hear about your farm team and how I can help you win your World Series by sharing your vision with your supply chain. Give me a call and let's share other sports analogies.