MPO Blog Leading from the C-Suite: How COOs Are Achieving Results with Supply Chain Software

As a former COO, overseeing Kaizen events, value-stream mapping analysis, upgrading ERP systems, and implementing customer success programs, I recall how easy it was for functional leaders to get bogged down in their own imperatives and lose sight of the big picture. Individual silo objectives can inadvertently be at cross purposes with others - most commonly between sales and operations. To meet a revenue goal, sales teams may commit to deals that the operations team is unaware of or hasn't bought into. Policies might be flexed to drive more short-term volume, making the rest of the company strain in meeting the increased demand. These knee-jerk reactions then ripple throughout the supply base causing consternation. Today's companies are also multi-enterprise networks of multi-tier suppliers, distributors, warehouses, carriers, and other partners - which further contributes to the complexity of fractured people, systems, and processes.In my case, our cross-functional interconnectedness was low because the technical infrastructure to do so didn't exist. The technology in our silos was designed to optimize narrow functionality. Today it's a different story.