MOST Analysis

Mission Statement

In general, a supply chain strategy should look at least three years into the organization’s future. However, that does not mean that the organization then will follow that plan for the next three years without changes or modifications. The global environment is far too dynamic to not make corrections to address major significant changes in an organization’s competitive landscape. To define and prioritize new global supply chain capabilities we suggest that the organization forms a cross-functional strategy team, including resources from sales, IT and finance, and organizes a two- or three- day off-site meeting to initiate the process. The off-site meeting starts with a review of the inputs collected so far. This includes customer requirements, internal supply chain assessment, global supply chain trends, competitive analysis, global supply chain technologies, and global supply chain risks. During the review process, a running list of all potential new supply chain capabilities that could be developed needs to be kept. To rank and prioritize the potential supply chain capabilities, the strategy team needs to determine the estimated impact of each new capability on the organization’s supply chain performance indicators (service levels, costs, inventory & working capital, ROI), as well as consider the human and financial resources necessary to implement each supply chain capability. Some organizations also add a “Probability of Delivery” factor to this evaluation matrix to include a factor describing the complexity and risk associated with each potential capability. Once the strategy team has established that the selected new supply chain capabilities will indeed enable the organization to achieve its goals & objectives and are feasible to implement within the given resource constraints, the team needs to establish a detailed project plan for the new supply chain capabilities selected. The overall project plan also needs to identify how the individual projects are interrelated to visualize that some projects with a lower ROI are actually enablers of projects with a significantly higher ROI.

---

Objectives

01. The Need for Supply Chain Innovation and Optimization: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Supply Chain Competitive Analysis: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Internal Analysis to Understand Supply Chain Deficiencies: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Internal Evaluation Measures: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Forming a Cross Functional Team to Analyze Supply Chain Capabilities: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Understanding Supply Chain Capabilities and Their Impact: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. The Financial Side of Innovation in Supply Chain: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Global Supply Chain Dynamics: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Risks and Threats of Supply Chain Innovation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Applying the Theory of Constraints to Supply Chain: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Measuring Progress in Supply Chain: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Unearthing New Supply Chain Capabilities: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month

---

Strategies

01. The Need for Supply Chain Innovation and Optimization: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Supply Chain Competitive Analysis: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Internal Analysis to Understand Supply Chain Deficiencies: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Internal Evaluation Measures: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Forming a Cross Functional Team to Analyze Supply Chain Capabilities: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Understanding Supply Chain Capabilities and Their Impact: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. The Financial Side of Innovation in Supply Chain: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Global Supply Chain Dynamics: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Risks and Threats of Supply Chain Innovation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Applying the Theory of Constraints to Supply Chain: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
11. Measuring Progress in Supply Chain: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
12. Unearthing New Supply Chain Capabilities: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.

---

Tasks

01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze The Need for Supply Chain Innovation and Optimization.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Supply Chain Competitive Analysis.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Internal Analysis to Understand Supply Chain Deficiencies.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Internal Evaluation Measures.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Forming a Cross Functional Team to Analyze Supply Chain Capabilities.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Understanding Supply Chain Capabilities and Their Impact.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze The Financial Side of Innovation in Supply Chain.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Global Supply Chain Dynamics.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Risks and Threats of Supply Chain Innovation.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Applying the Theory of Constraints to Supply Chain.
11. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Measuring Progress in Supply Chain.
12. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Unearthing New Supply Chain Capabilities.

---

Introduction

A supply chain is a network established between an organization and its suppliers to not only procure raw materials but to also produce items and distribute the specific goods to the final buyer in question. Supply chain has always been an area of keen interest to managers and global leaders, partially because of how it relates to the primary areas of business operations – production and selling.

The goal of almost any global supply chain today is to remove hindrances in the path and get the product into the hands of the end consumer. But this is just the basic idea behind it. Every supply chain is built on a set of lasting principles. These principles usually determine the success and authenticity of a supply chain.

A closer look would allow you to tell the differences between a supply chain model that is well thought out and a supply chain design that is brought together without extensive planning or contemplation, for that matter. This is where the idea of supply chain optimization comes into context. Supply chain optimization is about closely connecting the dots in your supply chain and ensuring that all ends are properly connected to one another.

What Is Supply Chain Optimization?

As the term itself suggests, supply chain optimization is the process of making and implementing improvements within your supply chain. These improvements aren’t just made to reduce glitches within the current supply chain, but they also focus on identifying changing market trends and working on them to provide solid output and service standards to customers. Most improvements in the supply chain are centered on raising profits, cutting costs and keeping customers happy where they can.

Your supply chain should be able to give your customers what they want, when they want it and, in the condition and quality they want. The ability to meet the above standards will give organizations the solid foundation set they require for an optimized supply chain globally. The next step in the optimization process is to determine areas where expenses can be cut down or reduced without sacrificing on the quality or standard of goods given to the end customer.

The success of a supply chain is usually measured through its ability to give customers the satisfying experience they require at the lowest cost possible. Customer satisfaction is the end goal, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of heightened expenses and debilitating costs. Organizations look to benefit from the best of both worlds here with reduced expenses and controlled costs.

Supply chain optimization can be achieved by addressing a number of factors, including:

• Physical location/placement of inventory
• Transportation costs
• Distribution tactics
• Manufacturing processes, and so on.

Since there are a number of specific points that organizations should tackle to optimize the design of their supply chain, it makes perfect sense for organizations to identify and follow different approaches for the task.

Local vs. Global Supply Chain Optimization Resources

The supply chain network established by your organization can effortlessly be optimized and bettered in two general methods: local supply chain optimization and global supply chain optimization. Both methods of supply chain optimization deal with firms operating at a global level. Do not be confused by the references to local and global because they aren’t dictated by geographical references per se.

The main difference between both global and international approaches to supply chain management lies in the approaches they follow and the scale and scope of the structure. In this section, we will look into the global and local approaches to supply chain optimization and take a better look at both before we jump into supply chain design among other things.

Local Supply Chain Optimization

Local supply chain optimization is a supply chain process that is focused on specific functions of the supply chain network. The local supply chain optimization process considers supply chain functions in their individuality without considering their impact on other parts of the supply chain.

Looking at steps and ideas of the supply chain in their individuality can generally be befitting to run a profound analysis. The analysis helps unearth specific glitches and mistakes in certain functions, which eventually makes it easier for organizations to not only reduce the problems but also come up with a strategy to minimize the damages caused by that specific function. All functions and steps of a supply chain process play an integral role in influencing the success of the supply chain. With due contemplation and active tracking, organizations can improve specific functions and trigger a domino effect of sorts.

For example, organizations would like to focus on the optimization of distribution processes so that stores always have a steady flow and supply of goods to provide to customers. The delivery process should ideally be spruced up to minimize the chances of late deliveries and to ensure that customers get the products they require at the right time, without any delays whatsoever. Ensuring a speedy delivery process might even mean sending trucks out to stores and different geographical locations, even if they aren’t filled to the core or to their capacity.

This specific process-oriented step might give you a benefit and might put you at a disadvantage as well. On the one hand, you will end up benefiting from the goal you have set for yourself, while on the other hand, this rapid increase can cause costs to increase and become a problem in the long run. Organizations need to keep a stringent check on the cost of distribution as well because, as we mentioned earlier, the primary goals of supply chain optimization also refer to getting the best outcomes possible without a drastic increase in costs.

As we can see from the example above, a localized optimization plan for your supply chain is not the best way or long-term solution moving forward. In fact, looking at things in spe