the bottom line, a manager will do that every chance
he or she gets.
But it takes visibility to do that effectively. If you
can’t see the operation properly, you can’t measure it
or do much about it. Brinker International, which
operates Chili’s and Maggiano’s, relies on end-to-end
visibility. With that, Parsley says, you can identify gaps
and opportunities along the supply chain and priori-
tize them. “You can do that in real time if you have the
right kind of technology and visibility.”
Process mapping is a tool that came out of lean man-
ufacturing, and it has a role to play in cost containment. It
identifies waste in the supply chain, and Parsley says
that’s important on two levels. First, it allows you to look
at the component parts of a process and determine
what’s working properly and what isn’t. Second, it brings
folks together from different disciplines in the organiza-
tion. “They become aware of what you’re doing and why
that’s important, and you understand them better. That
collaboration leads to alignment, and that leads to a more
productive supply chain.”
Rationalization of distributors and suppliers is
highly important as well, and it’s not that difficult to
achieve. Questions to ask include: where are your dis-
tributors, what type are they, how many do you have,
and do you need to consolidate them? On the supplier
side, not only is it important to know how many you
have but are they the right ones. Are they strategic or
tactical? What’s their role?
It is vital to continually reassess your organization
and how it’s structured, Parsley says. “Ask, ‘Given
where we are today, where do we need to be in
future? Do we have the right people in the right
place?’ Evaluation will cause you to make changes
and accomplish your mission. It’s akin to process
mapping in some ways.”
A Clean Way to Reduce Your
Freight Expense
Managing Cost Without Sacrificing
Quality
Successful cost containment requires “farm-to-fork”visibility
of the entire supply chain, a process mapping initiative to
identify and fix those areas that aren’t working properly, and
assembling a cross-functional team. In the present difficult
economy, says David Parsley, senior vice president, supply
chain management, Brinker International, cost management is paramount.
Most so-called C-level executives focus on cost management issues,
but the economy today is so complex and challenging that they
can’t grow the business the way they did five years or so ago, says
Parsley. You can’t always control your sales, but you can always try
to rope in costs. And when there’s an opportunity to put money on
As an executive of a company looking to wean fleets from
diesel to natural gas, Matt Feighner, director of national
accounts at Clean Energy, says the alternative fuel is cheaper,
cleaner and domestically abundant. More and more fueling
stations are being built, he says, and manufacturers are
beginning to offer more engines capable of using natural gas.
Clean Energy officials clearly see natural gas as an alternative to the
traditional way to fuel trucks, but they know that first they have to
teach fleet operators how to leverage natural gas in their supply
chains. Here’s the argument: gas is cheaper, cleaner, and domestically abundant. More specifically, on a retail basis, natural gas is
between $1.50 to $2.00 cheaper than diesel. It’s much cleaner from
the perspective of greenhouse gas emissions. “And we’ll certainly
have enough natural gas for the rest of our careers,” Feighner says.
