Supply Chain Management For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 14

Adopting Supply Chain Metrics

IN THIS CHAPTER

Focusing on performance attributes

Identifying metrics and key performance indicators

Measuring operational, financial, and human performance

There’s a common saying in supply chain management circles: “What gets measured, gets done.” Almost everything about a supply chain can be measured, either directly or indirectly. Metrics give you data and allow you to make decisions based on facts rather than on guesses. But measurement costs money because you need to invest in technology and processes to capture, store and analyze the data.

It pays to be smart about what you measure, how you measure it, and what you do with the information that you collect. In this chapter, you examine different ways to measure the performance of your supply chain and how to select metrics that will help you manage trade-offs and drive improvements.

Establishing Process Metrics

After you define the processes in a supply chain, the next step is deciding how to measure them. Supply chain measurements are usually called metrics — reference points that help you monitor whether your people, processes, and technology are performing the way that you want ...