• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Alignment Is Not Just for Cars

Alignment Is Not Just for Cars

February 20, 2015
SupplyChainBrain

Alignment can seem daunting.  It is, in most cases, the missing piece to success.  Just ask anyone who has a car out of alignment as they turn a corner too fast or stop too quickly – it can be a detractor to dependable driving and can cause an accident.  Business strategist Larry Myler noted that business strategy is all about alignment.  Larry uncovered three key points of business strategy alignment:

- 65 percent of organizations have an agreed upon strategy

- 14 percent of employees understand the organization’s strategy

- Less than 10 percent of all organizations successfully execute upon a strategy

Business Strategy.  When creating a business strategy, focus on simplicity: what your customers buy and what products/services you supply. If you lose track of the basics, you will end up misaligned as an organization. A clear business strategy, founded in improving the synchronization of supply and demand, will help you avoid misalignment.

Strategy Communication.  Communication seems easy enough but during the translation, employees can become misaligned. Remember only 14 percent understand the strategy.  The localization (“how does this affect my department”) of the business strategy requires vigorous attention to avoid misalignment. Like cars, employees can easily become misaligned.  Misalignment is usually caused by one of three factors:

1. 30 percent is caused by data

2. 65 percent is due to different definitions

3. 5 percent is due to different drivers      

Let’s break it down with a look at one strategic objective communicated to the employees:  “Attain lower overall costs than our competitors”.  Employees read this statement and may interpret it differently: 

1. 30 percent will conclude that our business is not as low cost as our competitors. 

2. 65 percent will assume that we will now go through a period of rigorous cost controls and that could mean layoffs.

3. 5 percent will think they need to cut their budgets, reduce headcount, redesign the organization, etc. 

All are valid based on their view of the business, but each can quickly lead an organization astray from its intended direction.  It is up to those that are laying out the strategy to be concrete in their definition, data and drivers so that all groups can collectively align around the right solution, maximizing business potential.

Strategy Execution.  This is the most important step of the three, yet less than 10 percent of organizations successfully execute their strategy.  If you have car trouble, it comes down to running or not and how well it runs.  In most cases we just need it to run, get us to and from our destination at a decent cost.  For an organization, strategy execution is similar, it must understand what trade-offs will be made.  This could include metrics and goals to improve and change behaviors; recognizing and rewarding the new behaviors and decision making process; and developing a culture of innovation. 

                                                   The Outlook

The bottom line – strategic business alignment isn’t easy, just like many car repairs.  Thirty-five percent of businesses don’t agree on strategies, 86 percent of employees don’t understand the organization’s strategy – due to data, definition or drivers – and 90 percent of organizations do not successfully execute upon a strategy.  The outlook is bleak unless you look under the hood in the organization to understand where the misalignment occurs and repair it by aligning.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Technology Business Strategy Alignment Global Supply Chain Management Food & Beverage
KEYWORDS BravoSolution business goals business strategy Business Strategy Alignment collaboration Food and Beverage Global Supply Chain Management Mickey North Rizza Supply Chain Analysis & Consulting Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management: Business Strategy Alignment supply chain partnerships Technology VP Strategic Services
  • Related Articles

    Why SOA is Not Just Something For the IT Guys To Worry About

    Compliance Is Not Just About Avoiding Risk. It Is Also About ROI

SupplyChainBrain

Manifest Las Vegas Announces 2023 Sponsors, Discounted Tickets

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • coworkers collaborate

    Podcast | Linking Planning and Execution for Real-Time Decision-Making

    Sales & Operations Planning
  • FedEx

    FedEx Faces Big Changes as New Boss Confronts Higher Costs, Angry Contractors

    Last Mile Delivery
  • cyber crime

    The Cyber Blind Spot That Makes Every Supply Chain Vulnerable

    Regulation & Compliance
  • 0627_Guitars.png

    Sweetwater Responds to the ‘New Face of Agility’ in Supply Chain and Merchandising

    Inventory Planning/ Optimization
  • delivering package

    Consumers Prefer Personal Touch, Predictability, Over Super-Fast Delivery

    Last Mile Delivery

Digital Edition

Scb may 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain ESG Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • 3PL Doubles Productivity With Robots to Fulfill Medical Supply Orders

  • E-Commerce Company Cuts Order Fulfillment Time by 40%

  • Fashion Retailer Halves Fulfillment Time With Omichannel Automation

  • Distributor Scales Business by Integrating Warehouse Automaton Software

  • Fast-Growing Fashion Brand Scales E-Commerce Fulfillment With Whiplash

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming Alithya Barcoding
Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics Generix
GEP GreyOrange Here
Honeywell Intelligrated IFM Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
Lucas Systems Nvidia Old Dominion
ORTEC Parsyl QIMA
Redwood Logistics Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated
Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD Shipwell
Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
Tive Trailer Bridge Vecna Robotics
Verity
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2022 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing