SCDigest: What Does 'Senior Management Support' for Supply Chain Projects Really Mean?
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from Supply Chain Digest.
Almost universally, presentations mention the need for "senior management support" for supply chain project success. A quick logical conclusion: such support must often be lacking, or else it is pointless to emphasize the need for it.
Do companies launch supply chain projects - or any major initiatives in retail, for that matter - that don't have senior executive support? I think they do, and that this happens in several ways.
For example, someone in the supply chain organization might have an idea that can really lead to solid improvements in cost or performance - and it really is a good idea. While the supply chain executive intellectually understands that this is a good thing, it is not connected in a deep way to what is important to him or her right now. So, sometimes, we let the thing move forward because we don't have good reasons to oppose it, but we are not really engaged in its success.
Second, a project or initiative can have what appears to be support from the senior supply chain executive, but somewhere along the way that support is at least partially withdrawn, usually because other priorities emerge in the meantime. If you have 'Project A' starting out and not long after a merger is announced that will require substantial integration effort and time from the VP of Supply Chain, the initial and well intentioned support for a relatively minor project may dissipate.
The third type is more complicated. That is where the supply chain group and leader are fully behind a project, but the CEO/COO and/or the leaders of other functions are not really behind it.
So what's the point of all this?
First, if you are a supply chain leader, you have to discipline yourself to not let projects that make sense intellectually get approved if in your gut they are not really supportive of your current goals and objectives. Second, if you are a manager, you need to put your passion for a project to the side if you sense you do not really have senior management support. Third, companies should put some definition around what "senior management support" really means (e.g., communications, ownership, steering committees, etc.); confirmation of that support should be one of the gates a project must go through before it is approved. Some companies do have this practice in place now in one form or another.
The support of the CEO/COO and other CXOs is a lot tougher. The CEO can only actively support a small number of major projects. That means there inevitably will be projects that cross functional boundaries but for which the CEO or COO just can't really be supportive in any meaningful way. This is where political and communication skills come into place.
While my focus here is on supply chain, the issues and questions are of course also relevant for any important retail strategic or technology initiative.
So the bottom line - make darn sure you have senior management support at whatever level makes sense for your project and initiative - and validate that several times. And when it comes to cross functional projects, you may just have to generate that support largely on your own.
Discussion Questions: How would you define "senior management support?" Do many projects/initiatives really move forward without it? What are some best practices around this?