Give Up Your Spreadsheet or Your Business Dies!
July 25, 2024
As my wife says, “why are you being such a drama queen?”
In this case, after 30 years in Global Supply Chain, I feel vindicated for my DRAMA… yes, I finally have a win, the naïve voice in my head says, while the battle-hardened voice in my head says, “sit down, shut up, smile, and say ‘yes babe,’ as you may win the battle but not the war.” A smart man, I hear you say.
However, this is a pet hate of mine and I need to speak my truth. I’ve sat on all sides of the fence with this one – culprit, victim, saviour, and, inspired by Monty Python’s famous line “He is the Messiah,” a Supply Chain Messiah on this subject.
In the fast-paced world of supply chain management, clinging to Excel for planning and forecasting can be a costly mistake. Costly in terms of profitability, resourcing, business momentum, and lost opportunities… the costs are truly staggering.
While spreadsheets have their place, relying on them for complex supply chain operations leads to inefficiency and errors. Here are some obvious reasons why it's time to modernise:
However, the real cost to business of spreadsheet planning lies in their inability to enable Supply Chain Agility, Flexibility & Discipline (AFD) into an organization. The AFD trilogy is the foundation for any organization looking to compete in today’s market.
The widely shared belief that “competition is no longer between companies – it’s between supply chains” holds up nowadays more than ever. We saw it with the onset of Covid, organisations with mature supply chain capability pivoted and planned in a way others couldn’t. The disparity in capability in play was evident for anyone in the industry.
Your competitors are not going away; the smart ones are looking at supply chain innovation and evolution to expedite market growth while others sit still. History has taught us that playing the safe game in business is a quick way to end up as roadkill. Ask Blockbuster, Nokia, Kodak, MySpace, Pan AM, and Toys R Us if they had their time again, what would they change.
Embracing modern supply chain solutions that integrate real-time data, automation, and advanced analytics has become the game changer. These tools not only enhance efficiency and accuracy but also provide a competitive edge in today’s dynamic market… Agility, Flexibility & Discipline.
Don’t let outdated methods hold your business back. Innovate, automate, and watch your business thrive.
Yuri Verjoustinsky | Managing Director | DMS Pty Ltd
