Making the most of your Supply Chain Metrics to leverage Competitive Advantage

>This is a short sighted approach and the reality does
In this brief article we are going to touch upon hownot match the theory that all of this information
you can maximize your SCM metrics in order tobeing put in front of an SCM management team is
deliver the competitive advantage that you really areactually going to help them.
looking for.Following Pareto's Principle and focusing on the 20%
The majority of KPI dashboards are in factof metrics that are actually telling you how 80% of
overloaded with metrics and the key to getting theSCM business performance is actually being
most out of your SCM intelligence is in choosing thegenerated does deliver better results. 
most appropriate metrics that are key to providingThe issue will become what are you going to use?
decision makers with the necessary information toConcentrating on the basics will provide a far better
deliver informed decisions when they need it.  UsingSCM dashboard to equip managers to focus on the
dashboards that are carrying large numbers of KPI'sreal drivers of the supply chain process.  Remember
does not deliver information to SCM managers sowe are looking to focus on cost reduction, better
they can make optimal decisions.  Focusing on thesupplier management, shorter delivery times or
key metrics that identify the main source of SCMbetter on-time delivery to customers, improving the
business performance is vital and reducing theefficiency of the manufacturing chain and being able
number of metrics used allows managers toto distil this in a format that presents information
understand better and far more intuitively what aagainst pre-set indicators and historical trend data.
metric is actually trying to tell them.That all sounds great but let's have some specifics!
"Less is more" or TMI (Too Much Information) areAim to present the following and little else on your
two of the comments that you will hear from SCMSCM dashboard:
experts who truly understand the components of- Production on Time and Complete- Supplier
the business supply chain from procurement,Fulfillment on Time and Complete- Perfect Order
processing and through to customer delivery.  In theFulfillment- Perfect Order Lead Time- Expedited
very recent few years, with the introduction of RFIDOrder Fulfillment- Customer Return Rate- Cash to
technology that allows tagging of containers, palletsCash Cycle Time
and individual shipment items replete with a mass ofThese are seven KPI's that will provide your supply
raw data on content, models, color, specification,chain management team with the information that will
origination and so on , it is extremely tempting toprovide them with over 80% of the indicators of SC
dive in and start thinking that all this data that we areperformance.  Look to provide more than this and
now routinely able to collect and collate canyou are heading into information replication and data
somehow be manipulated to provide SCM managersoverload resulting in management delays in exercising
with even more information that will help them makedecision making power and confusion over what the
better and more profitable decisions.metrics are actually trying to tell you.