Page 7 - Logistics News Oct Nov 2020

Thought Leadership

and copes better with a storm, and (10) has good
coping mechanisms, thus enabling them to take
the crisis head-on and not cower away from or
succumb to the crisis. The fit – as defined by the
10 dimensions above – survived and thrived better
than the unfit during the crisis.
Right at the beginning of the crisis my eyes
were open – watching supply chain movements
and which companies were ready and coping
better than others. I recall watching Coca-Cola
trucks making plenty of deliveries early on in the
crisis – with their focused drivers wearing face
masks and getting the job done. Replenishing
stores and filling shelves. They had decided that
they were not going to be the losers. Clearly,
they had been proactively well trained to handle
such a crisis and took it confidently and relatively
easily in their stride. They were not reactive,
but proactive and ready. Similarly, other strong
businesses like Domino’s Pizza coped better than
expected as home deliveries soared and created
new challenges – and their business model shifted
overnight from in-store sales to out-of-store
sales and home deliveries. No doubt the C-Level
operations directors were doing their best to adapt
to the surge of home deliveries, with the confined
and fixed resources of a limited fleet of personnel
overstock and understock situations, and the real and vehicles to make these home deliveries.
challenge of selling through their stock on hand. The business model was turned on its head
Some nations coped better than others. Some and supply chain operators simply had to ‘cope’.
businesses coped better than others. Some supply Business ‘unusual’ replaced business as usual.
chains coped better than others. Some families Some businesses suddenly made a bold attempt
coped better than others. And I was left wondering to start and initiate their online businesses from
why. scratch – only to discover that a new online division
Initially, the first thought that came to mind of their business took more planning, thought,
was survival of the fittest. The fittest supply chains calculating and practical realism than was initially
survived best and some even thrived during the expected.
crisis – some made even greater profits during ‘Solvency’ and ‘staying liquid’ became key
the ‘silly serious season’ than prior to it. There business words as cash flows and bottom-lines
were winners, and there were losers. The healthier were quickly and suddenly impacted. Solid
and fitter the supply chain, business, family or integration and collaboration of one’s business
individual, the better he/she/it coped. This led me with supply chain partners and suppliers became
to a key question: What is a fit person? And what is even more important than during times of normal
a fit business or supply chain? business operations. We needed them and they
I concluded that the same principles that needed us. Three-to-five-year planning horizons
apply to a fit person generally applied to a fit suddenly gave way to more reactive one-year
supply chain. Ten key dimensions came to mind planning horizons, which were more reactive and
as I analysed fitness in general and explored less proactive, which invariably is not great for
parallels with supply chain fitness in particular. bottom-line profits nor sustainable long-term
The fit individual or supply chain is (1) flexible, growth. But managers and leaders of production
(2) adaptable, (3) stable, (4) agile, (5) strong – plants, operations or supply chains often have
mentally, socially, physically and spiritually, (6) to think on their feet and adapt to the ‘game’ on
disciplined and remains focused amidst a crisis, (7) hand, just to survive, before they can think about
follows regular healthy routines amidst a crisis, (8) strategic chess moves ahead. Coping with the
is proactively well trained and ready for a change, here and now took precedence over coping with
the unexpected or even a crisis, (9) is resilient tomorrow and the long-term future. The ability of

October/November 2020 | Logistics News 5