In this time where disruption is the norm , the business processes and organizations that are successful are those that adapt quickly to new opportunities and challenges, with a common denominator being those that transform digitally. Innovative institutions are changing paradigms of how to act, think and work, and are outperforming traditional companies in market penetration, forcing all firms to reevaluate their strategies and value delivery (Langley, n.d., cited by Molina, 2018).
In the aforementioned context, the concept of agile methodologies is the protagonist to the extent that it allows the constant delivery of value to organizations in an expeditious manner within the framework of volatile and complex realities. When we refer to agile methodologies, SCRUM emerges as the best known; However, since it is related to software projects, one can make the mistake of concluding that the concepts of agility are not applicable to our supply chain processes, when in reality they coincide with the challenges and can clearly generate great value.
It is clear that one of the historical challenges of supply areas is compliance with service levels. Criticisms are common to any industry (some justified and in many cases not), and in purchasing they are generally aimed at the fact that we are not agile enough (not to say that we are slow). However, when the ANS are measured, it can be demonstrated that more than 50% of the delays in the process are attributable to the user areas .
In this sense, it is essential to be able to measure these times, to make this reality visible to our organizations and to be able to show it to senior management in order to improve processes collaboratively with our internal users, suppliers and other areas involved in the supply chain. supply.
How to boost agility in supply?
From our roles we can adapt the principles of the agile manifesto to our reality:
1. The highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of value . We must be proactive, if a user is not clear about a requirement or does not have the planning culture , we cannot sit idly by, acting and giving them tools is our obligation as a strategic service area.
2. It is accepted that requirements change, even in late stages. Agile processes take advantage of change to provide a competitive advantage to the customer . We must be creative and open to changes.
3. Business managers and technical areas work together on a daily basis throughout the entire budget-to-pay process.
4. Simplicity or the art of maximizing the amount of work not done is essential. We must put the systems to work for us by eliminating manual or unnecessary tasks from the process.
5. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to be more effective in adjusting and refining its behavior and performance. The supply chain is like an athletics team that participates in a relay race , periodically we must review our deliveries, key purchasing processes and self-critically analyze what was done well and what opportunities for improvement there are to seek to do it better and better by mitigating risks
Conclusión
In conclusion, agility in supply is an essential need. It is in our hands to take the first step to do things differently, demonstrating the value of our professional management, understanding that the supply chain is the heart of every organization , and that all collaborators will be positively impacted if it works correctly. more agile way in a framework of security and transparency.
