Issue Statement
Broadly speaking, WoodSynergy is experiencing an information need and integration problem. It must use IT to enable SCM in order to get the right information in front of the right people at the right time and through the right lens, which requires a centralization of S&D data. Doing so will facilitate WoodSynergy’s interdependent goal of meeting demand with high quality products delivered on-time.
Analysis, Recommendations, Future
The urgent decision to build a gateway without paying adequate attention to information integrity and timeliness is a likely predictor of future disappointments and suboptimal performance at WoodSynergy. An SCM, or any IT system for that matter, is only as good as the information that goes into it, and it was a trigger-happy decision to place standardization and real-time interfacing above information integrity and timeliness. Real-time interfacing with mediocre-quality, relatively antiquated data is not an optimal operation. While initial results seem indisputably positive with over $1.5 million in cost savings, wide spread approval among RDMs, and a significant efficiency increase in order processing time, there is no reference to an analysis of alternatives. An optimal decision would have evaluated the remediation strategy and gateway prototype against a range of other feasible options, specifically against the other mediation approaches.
WoodSynergy needs to increase the speed with which it processes orders and makes sound decisions regarding operational efficiency and logistics. This makes networking a more snug fit for the organization than remediation. As stated, WoodSynergy already has a good rapport with its primary suppliers, so the company could leverage these healthy relationships to form new ones, eventually building alliances with new partners in the value chain while growing its existing