Companies Not Tracking Supply-Chain Performance, Survey Says

Compiled ByDeborah Austin Most companies still mismanage their supply chains, suggests a recent survey of senior executives by business consulting firm Bain & Co., Boston. Eighty-six percent of respondents say supply-chain performance is a priority -- but two-thirds don't track that performance outside their corporations or divisions. Only 3% say they have good data on performance of their entire supply chains -- including customer, vendor and distributor activity. Only 7% even track such performance of suppliers and customers. Management practices and incentive systems often fail to leverage technology's potential benefits, says Bain -- for example, by ballyhooing reduced delivery cost at the expense of inventory turns. Only 38% of managers have financial incentives tied to supply-chain performance -- and 78% of those incentives fail to account for customer feedback and vendor results.