60 Seconds with Scott Sopher, Deloitte Consulting’s Supply Chain Practice

Scott Sopher, Deloitte Consulting’s Supply Chain Practice
Title: Principal
Location: Atlanta
Experience: More than 28 years of experience across many industries assisting clients in supply chain strategy, planning and transformation.
Primary Focus: Supply chain strategy and operations improvement, facility rationalization, inventory management, supply chain technology planning and implementation, supply chain outsourcing, benchmarking, warehousing and transportation.

Bob Trebilcock: Scott, let’s look at the recent results of the 2014 MHI Annual Industry Report. First, who was surveyed for the annual industry report, and, since this is the first such report, what was purpose for this project?
Scott Sopher: We surveyed more than 450 supply chain executives from large and small companies across a range of industries, from retail to CPG to automotive to health care as well as materials handling and supply chain equipment and services providers. And, 18% held C-level titles and 41% were senior vice presidents, vice presidents, directors, or heads of a business unit or department. We set out to create a survey that is a unique and captivating pulse read about what executives think of innovation today. We think we accomplished that.

The detailed findings are organized around five hot topics that could have far-reaching implications on how companies manage their supply chains

Bob Trebilcock: You identified supply chain analytics and multichannel fulfillment as the top two strategic priorities. Talk a little about what’s driving those two issues to the top of the list.
Scott Sopher: Let’s talk first about analytics. There is a convergence of forces that have expanded the possibilities for supply chain analytics. The amount of data has exploded. The good news is that computing advancements and better tools make sophisticated analysis simpler and more cost effective. Visualization is allowing us to show patterns that turn huge volumes of data into useful insight. It’s interesting that the top performing companies use analytics almost three times as much as lower performing companies in daily operational decisions. That’s playing out in the supply chain space.

Related: Search SC24/7 Content on “Analytics”

As to multi-channel fulfillment, consumers are driving that channel. We believe doing that effectively will require flexible and agile supply chains that use innovative materials handling equipment, systems and processes.

Related: Aligning Order and Fulfillment Channels

Bob Trebilcock: One of your takeaways is that the continued focus on cost reductions may be working against the adoption of supply chain innovations. Why is that?
Scott Sopher: Our study does show that cost reduction is the No. 1 concern: more than 70% of respondents said that controlling costs is the top priority. We do believe that singular focus might be working against them. They are under valuing investments that could lead to long-term growth and efficiencies in their organizations. On the positive side, they are investing in things that offer strategic importance, like analytics and omni-channel fulfillment.

Related: 25 Ways to Lower Supply Chain Inventory Costs

Bob Trebilcock: You identified three emerging innovations that are not yet top of mind, including 3D printing. While a lot has been written about the promise of this technology, it was low on the list of priorities. Why is that?
Scott Sopher: I don’t think there’s a good understanding yet of the underlying technology. It’s often portrayed as too futuristic. As leaders, we need to do a better job of presenting the potential impact of the technology and of its potential impact on supply chains. We did highlight some real world examples of industries already leveraging the technology, such as aircraft parts, where it is making an impact.

Related: SC24/7 Articles on “3D Printing”

Bob Trebilcock: Having completed this survey, were there any findings that particularly surprised you?
Scott Sopher: Yes. We were surprised that innovations like mobility and sustainability were not higher priorities. Now, one of the advantages in doing a recurring annual survey is that we’ll be able to compare results from year to year. We expect to see a greater awareness of these innovations next year.

Related: Omni-Channel and Supply Chain Analytics Top Trends in Deloitte MHI Industry Report