ABSTRACT

The quotation above provides reengineering expert Michael Hammer’s view of the need for operational improvement. Certainly, these operational improvements include supply chain processes, and our own observation would support Hammer’s position that creativity and execution are indeed lacking. One obstacle is the inability to look beyond budgetary cost controls to link supply chain operations with the strategies we use to improve competitive position. The purpose of this chapter is to describe assessment tools to make these links. We cover three types of assessment tool, each of which has a dedicated section in this chapter:

1. Market and product environment. What kind of markets are we pursuing? What kind of products are we delivering to those markets?