Transforming Supply Chains

Chapter 7

Critical internal capabilities

Shaping the appropriate subcultures to propel operational strategies forward

Introduction

Designing and implementing new supply chain configurations is not necessarily a purely rational exercise, because it is subject to the vagaries of external customers and the behaviors of internal personnel. Indeed, our field work indicates that up to 60 per cent of intended strategies are never delivered on the ground in established businesses. And, perhaps surprisingly, this slippage is usually not due to competitive action. Rather, it is due to internal constraints, particularly the resistance to change embedded in the organization, which has the effect of impeding progress.

The proposition that the Dynamic ...