5P Method (Part 5) – Partners
Human being are the only species on earth being able to cooperate with individuals they never met and never will meet: During the stone age was a trade of workpieces for fire stone knifes over 4500 km distance – those who made the workpieces never met the customers and the end-users never met the craftsmen. This system till today was subject to higher specialization, highly sophisticated technologies, and techniques, but in general did not change as a fundamental concept.
Our supply chains are focused on customer demand, and typically the chemical and biotech industry are based between suppliers of raw materials and excipients, equipment, and consumables to supply others who will later supply to wholesales or other distributers to sell to consumers. In this highly complex world, which got on top worldwide competition of companies based in different cultures, different taxations, different political systems, makes every single contract interesting and a negotiations complex (remember the question what is a product). Supply chains must be balanced to avoid financial losses and to get the stock situation balanced.
Only few organizations understand the diligence needed, and not many understand that IT systems can support but not drive a business. Processes will define the winners or the losers out of such game. Even more relevant: The culture of an organization balancing the necessary aggressivity to avoid too many pillows with an understanding that every day something unexpected may and will happen can be a great foundation to build on.
Do we trust and if so, whom? How can we balance risk and probability of success? How do we deal with our partners who trust us as well? If such questions are relevant, we feel competent to be able to support you.