Flow management

Supply chain management needs to be brought under global control. This may seem obvious, since this process is essential to the quality of service delivered to customers. However, given the complexity of the process, it is not easy to control it easily and simply, and to know how to act to correct any deviations. Flow management is a recent concept, defined on the basis of optimal supply chain management. The notion of optimum in itself poses a first question, since, being optimal only in relation to an objective and depending on the definition of the latter, this reference changes. Once the objective, i.e. the optimum, has been defined, the next step is to measure current management performance, compare it with this optimum, or evaluate it in relation to expectations, in order to deduce corrective action where necessary.

Naturally, this assessment refers to a situation that has just occurred, but also to a likely change in the environment, the consequences of which need to be measured.

To implement flow management, it is necessary to be able to measure performance, judge the results and, finally, act to correct, when necessary, operations that could be better or that could deteriorate when a foreseeable change occurs.

Each company, on its own scale and at its own level, cannot neglect this steering and must be aware of the relationship between its own objectives and those that could be set at a global level.

The optimization sought by the models at our disposal is not always the ideal response to the need for responsiveness. From a local vision, we're moving towards a more global approach. Rapid, often sudden, changes in the business environment call for a capacity to adapt, a flexible response, appropriate over time, as opposed to the best behavior at a given moment in the face of a controlled environment. The target has changed. It's no longer a question of achieving optimum performance at time "t" (the search for precision), but of defining a scenario which, while perhaps less effective from time to time, will ensure the best overall performance over time (the search for an operating range).

If we analyze the possible positioning of a company in the global supply chain, we realize that, from production to distribution, constraints, points of view and objectives can be very different. As a result, the practical application of steering can be very diverse.

We even have to ask ourselves whether it is possible to manage a complete logistics chain when it is not managed in its entirety by a single company.

However, it is essential to control such a complex in order to achieve the best possible overall performance, and to adapt its operation...