• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • 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
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Are You Really Thinking Outside of the Box?

Are You Really Thinking Outside of the Box?

November 9, 2009
SupplyChainBrain

What is true "out-of-the-box" thinking in the area of supply chain planning? According to Natarajan, it's more than a matter of busting conventional wisdom. Companies in search of innovative thinking need to take four critical steps, he says. The first is to have in place "diametrically opposite alternative" plans. The second is to constantly evaluate those plans, based on changing conditions and sensitive variables. The third is to understand that the planning process is continuous in nature, with no defined end point. And the four is to make sure that the right people are in the right jobs.

Take the question of how to determine the right degree of automation within a warehouse. There are a number of factors to be considered: handling processes, storage requirements, communications, the physical nature of the building and transportation, to name a few. By considering opposing possibilities, ranging from total automation to totally manual processes, a company can determine the precise mix between the two. Pepsi is currently facing such a decision at a warehouse in Tampa, Natarajan says. It must take into account a variety of complex factors, from cost reduction to customer service. By adopting a multi-scenario approach, the company gains the flexibility to treat order building different from order fulfillment.

The trick, of course, is nailing down where along that range of possibilities the best answer lies. "The most important thing is to understand what are the assumptions that you have, and what are you trying to solve for," says Natarajan. At the same time, a company must guard against the tendency of people to cluster around a consensus, whether or not it yields the best answer.

Going forward, a good plan must be adjustable in line with changing conditions. "There's nothing like an end state that you have to go after," Natarajan says. "You have to remember that it's always a transient thing." That doesn't mean a strategic plan should be altered on a daily basis. But creative scenario planning will build into the plan regular points at which planners can take a fresh look at the question, he says.

To view this video interview in its entirety, Click Here

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Logistics Outsourcing Sales & Operations Planning Forecasting & Demand Planning Global Trade Management Supply Chain Finance & Revenue Management Supply Chain Planning & Optimization Technology Business Strategy Alignment Global Supply Chain Management HR & Labor Management
KEYWORDS Business Strategy Alignment Forecasting & Demand Planning Global Supply Chain Management Global Trade Management HR & Labor Management Logistics Outsourcing Sales & Operations Planning SC Finance & Revenue Management SC Planning & Optimization Supply Chain Analysis & Consulting Technology
  • Related Articles

    Are You Really Thinking Outside the Box?

    Thinking Outside The Outsourcing Box: It's All About Business Process and Service

    Are You Sure You Really Understand the Basics of 'Lean'?

SupplyChainBrain

Boeing-DOJ ‘Sweetheart Deal’ Decried by Victim’s Wife

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

  • INTERIOR OF A CHICKEN FARM, WITH WHITE CHICKENS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE

    Worst Avian Flu in U.S. History Is Hitting Poultry

    Food & Beverage
  • TWO FINGERS MANIPULATE WOODEN LETTER BLOCKS TO TURN FROM SHOWING THE WORD RECOVERY TO RESILIENCE

    Five Challenges to Supply Chain Resilience in 2023

    Supply Chain Visibility
  • A PERSON HOLDS UP A TABLET COMPUTER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPER-IMPOSED BY A GRAPHIC SHOWING A COMPLEX WEB OF SUPPLY CHAIN ELEMENTS

    Three Post-Pandemic Actions for Repairing Global Supply Chains

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • 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 ©2023 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