ACCORDING to some, a cowboy is a noble creature: “a hired man, especially in the western United States, who tends cattle and performs many of his duties on horseback”.
But to others he is a “reckless person such as a manager who ignores potential risks”.
Does the latter definition apply to some individuals in this industry?
An academic who specialises in supply-chain management, Professor Andrew Cox, recently provided a paper to the Supply Chain Forum entitled Wild West or Collaborative Innovation.
The Wild West approach is characterised by short-termism, where the purchaser and supplier take it in turns to wield the big stick depending on whether it is a buyer’s or a seller’s market.
He argues that our industry does not compare favourably with other sectors such as automotive, retail and pharmaceuticals, where there is more evidence of a long-term collaborative approach being taken to managing their supply chains.
Despite this, we have seen some very positive moves towards the development of a more collaborative approach, and this is enshrined in the Supply Chain Code of Practice.
The fear is that the downturn in the economy, coupled with lower oil prices, will lead to a return to the Wild West economics that could permanently damage the supply chain and leave it less able to take advantage of the inevitable upturn when it comes.
So now is not the time to ditch the Supply Chain Code of Practice. Instead, we should redouble our efforts towards compliance with the code.
A key area of the code concerns the use of two-way FPAL Performance Feedback, which is a perfect example of the collaborative approach referred to by Prof Cox.
Performance feedback enables the sharing of honest views about performance and helps both purchaser and supplier to identify much needed improvement opportunities.
This gives the supplier the perfect platform for telling their customer, in a polite way, that the bid documents could better, or that payment is too slow.
Visit www.fpal.com for further information about how FPAL can foster that collaborative approach