Process Excellence: Information Management

Everyone tells us that we live in the "information age." For those of us in the process industry, our operational and supply chain excellence efforts depend heavily on managers making decisions over a very broad scope that crosses many functions - and frequently across companies. We need good information on which to base those decisions. We also try to optimize decisions across the entire supply chain, not by individual function.

When looking at the overall scope of the supply chain, there are some basic "buckets" that we can categorize the information that is necessary to make good operational and supply chain decisions:

- Supplier information: where can we get materials and services, at what price, with what lead time? Implementing e-business requires information on order status, delivery, and payment.
- Manufacturing information: What do we make, how much, where, in which facilities, with what lead time, at what costs, and at what other trade offs?
- Distribution information: what do we need to move, to where, what quantities, what mode will we use, where do we want intermediate storage, and what lead time do we need?
- Demand information: (I know, here we go again...) who is buying what, at what price, where, what quantity, and where is it to be delivered?

OK, we know what type of information we need - what characteristics of this information do we need to make good decisions?

- Information must be accurate: Information will never be totally accurate, but we cant make good decisions unless the information is accurate enough to be directionally correct.
- Information must be timely: We cant wait until the numbers are 100% accurate - we argue that they never will be. Information must be timely - even at the limited expense of accuracy.
- Information must be appropriate: More data is not always better - data has be be appropriate for managers to make correct decisions. Don't waste resources collecting irrelevant information.

Information is critical to an effort to implement operational excellence strategies, and doubly so for supply chain optimization.

Synchronous LLC is committed to maintaining a continuing dialogue on operational excellence and best practices for the process manufacturing industry. To pose a question, contribute a best practice, or otherwise add to the dialogue, send a note to RobBaldwin@SynchronousLLC.com . To subscribe to our weekly newsletter send your preferred email contact address to Webmaster@SynchronousLLC.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.