How to Get Your Company in the Starting Blocks After COVID-19
如何讓你的公司在新冠病毒之後起步
April 13, 2020April 14, 2020 by Guest Author Leave a Comment 翻譯by虞老師
By Gregory Cable, C.P.M.
Business leaders all over the world are pulling back by making cuts across their companies as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Supply chain departments, still part of the manufacturing operations in many companies, are some of the first to be reduced. That’s because many unknowledgeable business leaders believe supply managers “only order parts.” The logic is that since the business doesn’t need as many parts, it doesn’t require as many supply management employees.
由於冠狀病毒（COVID-19）大流行，世界各地的企業領導者都在通過削減企業規模來生存。供應鏈部門仍然是許多公司製造業務的一部分，但是是第一個被減少的部門。那是因為許多無知的商業領袖認為供應經理“只訂購零件”。邏輯是，由於業務不需要那麼多部件，因此不需要那麼多的供應管理員工。
The result of pulling back on the supply chain is a recipe for disaster. A business may survive the crash, but it will be ugly. Nor will the company be in a good position to compete effectively after the crash.
撤回供應鏈的結果是災難的根源。企業可能會在崩潰中倖存下來，但是會很難看。飛機墜毀後，該公司也不會處於有效競爭的良好位置。
Instead, smart companies should look for opportunities that will give them an advantage over competitors that continue to downsize supply management organizations. Last week, this space discussed the three immediate steps — assess risk, evaluate supplier deliveries and assist suppliers when necessary — supply management organizations should take.
相反，精明的公司應該尋找機會，使其比繼續縮小供應管理組織規模的競爭對手更具優勢。上週，在這裡討論了三個緊迫的步驟-評估風險，評估供應商的交付並在必要時協助供應商-供應管理組織應採取的措施。
After the first three steps are taken care of, it’s time to ease back and level off, preparing for future high performance. Several activities can help your business be ready for the eventual economic comeback. A company’s supply chain is about its suppliers and its supply management employees.
在完成前三個步驟後，該放鬆一下並平穩下來，為將來的高質量業績做準備。多項活動可以幫助您的企業為最終的經濟復甦做好準備。公司的供應鏈是關於其供應商及其供應管理員工的。
Focus on creating or updating sourcing strategies. Strategic supply management activities are some of the first casualties when sales quickly increase. After all, no one has time — all effort is spent on ordering and expediting parts.
專注於創建或更新採購策略。當銷售迅速增長時，戰略性供應管理活動首當其衝。畢竟，沒有人有時間-所有精力都花在訂購和加快零件上。
As a result, a business downturn is an ideal time to either create or update your commodity/category sourcing strategies. This requires a high amount of research, but much of the strategies formulation can be done from home. Part of that effort also involves potential supplier optimization — weeding out chronic poor performers and replacing them with higher-quality suppliers that meet business needs.
因此，業務低迷是創建或更新您的商品/類別採購策略的理想時機。這需要大量的研究，但是許多策略的制定可以在內部完成。這項工作的一部分還涉及潛在的供應商優化-淘汰長期表現不佳的公司，並用滿足業務需求的更高質量的供應商代替他們。
Evaluate material requirements planning (MRP) parameters. This activity — which includes such parameters are lead times, minimum-order quantities, time fences, lot sizes and safety stock — also tends to take a back seat during good economic times. These parameters are often examined only when parts are initially set up, and it can be years before they are looked at again. These fixed parameters are frequently independent of fluctuating order volumes, making safety stock levels most often misaligned with business needs.
評估物料需求計劃（MRP）參數。這項活動（包括交貨時間，最小訂單量，時間範圍，批量和安全庫存等參數）在經濟良好時期也往往會退居二線。這些參數通常僅在最初安裝零件時進行檢查，並且可能需要數年才能再次進行檢查。這些固定參數通常與波動的訂單量無關，從而使安全庫存水平最經常與業務需求不符。
Negotiate kanban processes. Kanban processes are not appropriate for every situation. Yet, if you want to decrease in-house inventory while establishing a more reliable supply of parts, kanban processes with key suppliers can achieve both goals. It’s much easier to achieve the changeover from MRP to kanban (or some type of hybrid system) when volumes are slow, versus when you’re trying to push product out the door. By establishing robust kanban processes with suppliers, you will be set up for success when sales begin to increase.
協商看板流程。看板過程並不適合每種情況。但是，如果您想減少內部庫存，同時建立更可靠的零件供應，則與主要供應商的看板流程可以實現兩個目標。當數量變慢時，與嘗試將產品推出市場時，從MRP轉換為看板（或某種類型的混合系統）要容易得多。通過與供應商建立健全的看板流程，當銷售開始增長時，您將為成功做好準備。
Train and develop employees. Has YouTube ever charged your company for watching a video? Employee training and development need not be expensive, but it does take time, and time never seems to be on employees’ side when the economy booms.
培訓和發展員工。 YouTube是否曾經向您的公司收取觀看視頻的費用？員工培訓和發展不一定要花很多錢，但是這確實需要時間，而且在經濟蓬勃發展時，時間似乎從來就不在員工一邊。
Encourage employees to investigate such relevant media as videos and articles, especially if they are working from home.
鼓勵員工收集視頻和文章等相關媒體，尤其是在家中工作時。
Supply management practitioners can benefit from business-related videos that range from understanding how injection molding works to improving Microsoft Excel or PowerPoint skills to understanding negotiation strategies. Have employees track what they watch and ask them to help create a library of videos to share. In time, you will have a department of world-class supply management professionals learning from each other.
供應管理從業人員可以從與業務相關的視頻中受益，這些視頻包括從瞭解注塑成型的工作原理到提高Microsoft Excel或PowerPoint技能，再到了解談判策略。讓員工跟蹤他們觀看的內容，並要求他們幫助創建視頻庫以進行共享。隨著時間的推移，您將擁有一個世界級的供應管理專業人員部門，彼此學習。
It is well known among leading organizations that competition is no longer between companies, but rather between supply chains. Is your supply chain prepared to compete? Is your company going to be one of those that crash and burn, or will it quickly recover? What are you doing today and over the next several months to improve your supply chain, so your company can fly past its competitors?
領先組織之間眾所周知，競爭不再是公司之間的競爭，而是供應鏈之間的競爭。您的供應鏈準備競爭了嗎？您的公司會成為崩潰和焚燬的公司之一，還是會迅速恢復？您今天和接下來的幾個月將做什麼，以改善您的供應鏈，以便您的公司能夠超越競爭對手？
Gregory Cable, C.P.M., is a supply management senior consultant and principal with CGHM Consulting in Fairhope, Alabama.
Gregory Cable，C.P.M.是位於阿拉巴馬州Fairhope的CGHM Consulting的供應管理高級顧問和負責人。
