Supply Chain Management : 100 years of wisdom
“In the past the man has been first; in the future the system must be first.”
Frederick Winslow Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management
These are indeed wise words from Frederick Taylor who was one of the first to recognise the need for a more scientific approach to manufacturing and its complex process. When Taylor wrote this in 1911 it is undoubtable that it was received unfavourably by a majority as they struggled to come to terms with a more and more mechanised world. It took a further 70 years for the name “supply chain” to be coined by Keith Oliver. However it is clear that the birth of the terminology came well after the birth of its concept which has now developed over the past 100 years.
Over this period it has grown from a simple focus on improving relatively labour intensive processes to the precision of international delivery and product coordination. Supply chain management has metamorphosed and changed according to the progress of technology. In the 1940s, for example, companies concentrated on ways in which they could alleviate the work force and speed up the manufacturing process and therefore adopted methods such as the use of pallets on the factory floor for shifting goods. It was a physical emphasis to ensure greater efficiency and encourage smoother transition at each stage of production. It was only years later, however, that the real revolution for atomisation became a focale point for companies. This came with the birth of the assembly line in the 1950s whereby simple tasks at each stage of production were broken down, increasing production speed and productivity and inevitably reducing the need for an entire team to manipulate heavy material.
These small steps encouraged the large steps as companies realised that supply chain processes could be the crux of their business success. The 1960’s saw the motorway boom. Gradually, road transport became more and more a wise alternative to freight so much so that little by little there was a migration from freight to truck transportation. The attraction here was an acceleration in the supply chain process and a greater control on delivery time. The emphasis became one of greater overall control of not only the production line but also to ensure that such control extended beyond the factory doors. Like Dwight Eisenhower recognised long before, companies were beginning to see that “planning is everything”
The evolution since the 1960’s has been a steady one because companies have recognised it continuously as a major element for successful business. Staying on top is all about, after all, moving with the times. Each decade has seen a huge advance in the way the supply chain is managed with the 1990’s adopting software to achieve staff management and predictive delivery information. The need to maximise production methods has been heightened by the severe competition catalysed by globalisation. Companies have had to compete ruthlessly for their own market share.
Today, more and more we hear the term blockchain technology. When put alongside the manufacturing industry, It is clear that its potential is huge. Its implications to the way we do business today is revolutionary and quite logically it should go hand in hand with the supply chain process. Productivist is one of many projects that have recognised, the sheer power that this technology holds to improve the supply chain and their vision is one that potential ICO investors should definitely explore.
For those not familiar with Productivist, this project will offer companies world-wide, (both big and small) something unique: An easier access to the 3D printing market backed by a fail-safe supply management system to facilitate the process. The 3D printing industry is growing every day. For those familiar to 3D printing manufacturing methods, the market never ceases to amaze us. Its capability and flexibility to produce, in all materials, complex designs across the industries is breath-taking. Whether it is complex pieces from the medical or aeronautics’ industry or just simply a replacement piece for a washing machine, 3D printing is offering the world a means of achieving accurate, quality alternatives to traditional manufacturing methods. Productivist has certainly the potential to play an important role in the evolution of the 3D printing market with its vast network of 3D printing experts and designers. It aims to provide industry with the means to 3D print without investing in machinery which inevitably depreciates in value and therefore incurs heavy upkeep costs to companies. Although you may immediately question their confidence, they are right to be so as the team behind this project has had already considerable experience in providing 3D printing to industry in the capacity of Freelabster.com.
The genius however lies in their technology. Productivist will be more than just simply another 3D printing network. Its service will use blockchain technology. This technology is the answer to the one element which hampers supply chain again and again: the human error” element. Blockchain helps to avoid this inhibiting factor and will therefore be yet another huge step to improve supply chain management. By taking out the margin for error, problems such as delivery delays, bad orders and missed deliveries will be avoided. A recent article in Forbes indeed points out that the current supply chain can span over hundreds of stages, multiple geographical locations and generates a multitude of invoices and payments extending over months of time. In other words, plenty of room for error.
Productivist’s technology will avoid this by automatically selecting and monitoring the manufacturing process without human intervention. In other words those hundreds of stages will not get “lost in translation”. A company will be able to request a job and it is their blockchain technology which will interrogate the system to identify the right expert, material according to each client’s priorities. Aspects such as the client’s target price, material and quantity as well as required turn-around time will be matched with a 3D printing manufacturer to provide the client with a seamless process guaranteed to meet their stipulated needs.
Along with this Productivist have developed an App which will be made available . A service bespoke to their needs It will equip their clients with required precision in their supply chain process making it easier for them to surpass market competition which inevitably cuts into their profit margins.
All in all a brilliant concept and another great step from the many advances in supply chain which have come before over a long period time since 1911. The project is certainly exciting and although there are a few who may see it as ambitious, it is in reality just the next logical step. After all, when you look at the great leaps and bounds that the manufacturing industry have surmounted in their supply chain methods, this is just another of those great leaps which will change the way companies handle the supply chain today.
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