Is Ford's auto-xchange the "Real Deal?" (Survey Response 2)

Rick, Principle - The SUpply Chain Center, Denver, U.S.

Jon, frankly I think FMC is on its last legs. They face the same problems today as they did 10 years ago when they had a real opportunity to address them.

True, they are a big company (as Jim smirked); but in reality it is about $160 billion in cost and very little profit. That makes them a very small company in my mind. Their problem is that they have historically relied on "industry insiders" and shunned anyone from the outside with innovative ideas. A-X could be the first crack in their armor of letting fresh innovation inside.

They sound like their moving to a marketing company more than a manufacturing company.

I don't think I'm onboard with your view:

“The key starting point is to recognize that the term supply chain is a misnomer in that it implies a sequential order of events (in the spirit of your question, a non-deterministic set of algorithms which aligns with the equation-based modeling used by most software vendors).

Forward thinking companies have always see the supply chain as non-sequential. They didn't always have the best solutions, but the approach was correct.

My Response:

I am inclined to agree with you that "forward thinking companies have always seen the supply chain as non-sequential." But given the high rate of initiative failure, companies that have recognized this fact are definitely in the minority.

The fact that Ford, one of the "big" automakers, having suffered significant set-backs first as a member of the Covisint consortium, and then with their own Oracle-based Everest program is now talking about synchronization and the need for real-time, simultaneous interaction at multiple stakeholder levels is telling.

Especially in a world where models such as SCOR and Six Sigma continue to carry unwarranted weight in terms of mainstream acceptance as "standards" by which supply chain efficiency is measured.

Like Vendor Rationalization in which its broad application across an enterprise's entire spend has been largely discredited, is still be championed in some accreditation courses.

Whatever Ford's motivation might be for allowing this first "crack in their amour" as you put it, they are still a high profile company whose move will undoubtedly be a bellwether of things to come.

And that is why this is the most exciting periods in the evolution of supply chain practice.

Rick's Closing Comment So true Jon. I wouldn't bet on their success. Sad that the legacy of the man who gave us such concepts as vertical integration and the assembly line would end up in such a mess.

Is Ford's auto-xchange the "Real Deal?" (Survey Response 2) - To learn more about this author, visit Jon Hansen's Website.

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