The Triple-A Supply Chain: Agility, Adaptability and Alignment
38
SUPPLY CHAIN – STRATEGY INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE
The Triple-A Supply Chain revisited
Hau Lee’s highly acclaimed seminal article2 on “The Triple-A Supply Chain” has now been out in the domain for four years, during which time our understanding of how supply chains work has increased exponentially. So high time we re-visited the ideas in that article and added some refinements
By Dr John Gattorna, author and supply chain thought leader1
ee gives many interesting examples to support his de nitions of each ‘A’Agility, Adaptability, and Alignment, but while quite descriptive, there remain
Supply Chain Asia November/December 2008
L
some lingering questions in readers’ mind about exactly what is going on under the surface. Indeed, he admits as much in the last paragraph of the article when he muses
that, “…what they (firms) need is a fresh attitude and a culture to get their supply chains to deliver triple–A performance”3. He is right of course, and in this extension to
SUPPLY CHAIN – STRATEGY INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE
39
Lee’s article I will endeavour to introduce that added ingredient — the cultural perspective. Without it I’m afraid the story remains purely descriptive and lacks explanatory power. By better understanding what is going on inside the human dimension of supply chains, it becomes possible to move to a more predictive level. In other words, if you know what sub-cultures are in place and underpinning various supply chain strategies, you will be able to predict what the likely outcome is in terms of execution. Unfortunately, in my experience, over 40% of strategies written into business plans fail to be implemented, and it’s all due to a ‘misalignment’ between those strategies and the ‘values’ of the people inside the organisation, and the partner organisations in the chain. Lee posits4 that “… only those companies that build agile, adaptable, and aligned supply chains get ahead of the competition”. I agree with him. But I think we
SUPPLY CHAIN – STRATEGY INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE
The Triple-A Supply Chain revisited
Hau Lee’s highly acclaimed seminal article2 on “The Triple-A Supply Chain” has now been out in the domain for four years, during which time our understanding of how supply chains work has increased exponentially. So high time we re-visited the ideas in that article and added some refinements
By Dr John Gattorna, author and supply chain thought leader1
ee gives many interesting examples to support his de nitions of each ‘A’Agility, Adaptability, and Alignment, but while quite descriptive, there remain
Supply Chain Asia November/December 2008
L
some lingering questions in readers’ mind about exactly what is going on under the surface. Indeed, he admits as much in the last paragraph of the article when he muses
that, “…what they (firms) need is a fresh attitude and a culture to get their supply chains to deliver triple–A performance”3. He is right of course, and in this extension to
SUPPLY CHAIN – STRATEGY INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE
39
Lee’s article I will endeavour to introduce that added ingredient — the cultural perspective. Without it I’m afraid the story remains purely descriptive and lacks explanatory power. By better understanding what is going on inside the human dimension of supply chains, it becomes possible to move to a more predictive level. In other words, if you know what sub-cultures are in place and underpinning various supply chain strategies, you will be able to predict what the likely outcome is in terms of execution. Unfortunately, in my experience, over 40% of strategies written into business plans fail to be implemented, and it’s all due to a ‘misalignment’ between those strategies and the ‘values’ of the people inside the organisation, and the partner organisations in the chain. Lee posits4 that “… only those companies that build agile, adaptable, and aligned supply chains get ahead of the competition”. I agree with him. But I think we