TWIMP: Unravelled For Young Business Professionals

TWIMP - The Integrated Supply Chain and Logistics Strategy
Prof Philbert Suresh, Chief Knowledge Officer, TransLogistique Canada, Dubai Knowledge Village, UAE

Whether your business is big or small, a sound business strategy will always include building customer satisfaction through an effective delivery system. The logistical strategy that I will discuss in this article, under the acronym TWIMP©, is not something that you will find in any textbook. I have found TWIMP© a very convenient way to explain the integrated nature of the elements that go to make up the logistics process. Understanding the steps described in TWIMP© will remove the confusion that prevails in the mind of even the most accomplished logistician.

TWIMP© is an acronym for Transportation + Warehousing & Inventory Management + Information Technology + Materials Handling + Packaging, Marking and Labeling. All these disparate logistical elements must be integrated to produce a supple supply chain - something that is critical to the success of your business.

T = Transportation: A competent logistician knows exactly how to use different modes of transport (air, sea. and land) to move cargo in a seamless manner and keep costs low.

W = Warehousing & Inventory Management: This is a challenge for every logistics professional. Your business must be efficient - while at the same time costs must be kept low so your service/product will be affordable to the customer. Should a business hold all kinds of cargo in any quantity to satisfy a customer? Only experience can tell you how profitable it would be to manage under the just-in-time concept. This is one area where a business would do well to outsource to a third party so the business can focus on its core competency – whatever that may be – to remain lean and open to market opportunities.

I = Information Technology: This is the glue of the business process. It demands that all partners in a supply chain share data for the overall efficiency and profits of the enterprise. The new logistics is all about data management and sharing on an open platform – all along the supply chain - from the customer who has a variety of preferences, to the supplier of raw materials or finished goods.

M = Materials Handling: Often mistaken for materials management, materials handling refers to everything from the proper use of forklift trucks within a warehouse to the loading / unloading devices at ports. In other words, it encompasses all the matters involved in the safe delivery of the cargo to the customer in the proper condition, without any damages.

P = Packaging: This refers to the packaging of a product in a carton, onto a pallet, and into a container. Packaging is important to both the distribution function and to the preservation of the quality of the product - loading and unloading in good and bad weather while it moves on the ocean, land or in the air. Within this function is the use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) that tags a product intelligently so that the logistician will have complete control of the inventory in motion or at rest. Marking and labeling are important activities within an automated warehouse.

Understanding the supply chain process in your business enterprise is fundamental to securing customer satisfaction. Modern-day competition for customer satisfaction is not between company and company but between one supply chain and another. Developing an efficient supply chain is often a complex task – but that makes sense, as the supply chain is at the crux of any business that wishes to deliver goods on time and to provide superlative service. These in turn are the things that shore up the fortune of a company.

[836 words]

REFERENCES
(1) Hayden, M. Executive Managers Preference Workbook, 2004
(2) Peters,T.J. and Robert H.Waterman, In Search of Excellence,Warner Books, N.Y. 1982
(3) Rumelt,R, Strategy, Structure and Economic Performance, Doctoral Dissertation, Harvard Business School, 1974
(4) Kotter, J.P., A Force For Change: How Leadership Differs from Management, Maxwell MacMillan Canada, 1990


The Definition of Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management is the systemic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole. The supply chain of a manufacturing enterprise is a world-wide network of suppliers, factories, warehouses, distribution centres and retailers through which raw materials are acquired, transformed and delivered to customers. In order to optimize performance, supply chain functions must operate in a coordinated manner. But the dynamics of the enterprise and the market make this difficult: bank rates change overnignt, political situations change, materials do not arrive on time, production facilities fail, workers are ill, customers change or cancel orders, etc. causing deviations from plan. In some cases, these events may be dealt with locally, i.e. they lie within the scope of a supply chain function. In other cases, the problem can not be "locally contained" and modifications across many functions are required.

Consequently, the supply chain management system must coordinate the revision of plans/schedules across supply chain functions. The agility with which the supply chain is managed at the tactical and operational levels in order to enable timely dissemination of information, accurate coordination of decisions and management of actions among people and systems, is what will ultimately determine the efficient, coordinated achievement of enterprise goals