Main Interview
He continues : “ The only thing we are really interested in is enabling a business to say ‘ this is my carbon emissions target , this is my cost target , this is my service level target and I want the supply chain to orient around that .’ That is the entire design theory around everything we build . The emphasis is on getting data , applying the best tech to that data , interpreting it and then using it to drive outcomes .
Outcome-driven
“ As an example , we looked at a specific supply chain for one customer , whereby we were able to make a trade-off between carbon emissions and cost . They wanted to know what they could do differently and better . Using data and tech , we were able to identify elements of the supply chain where they were able to operate more efficiently to reduce costs by ten percent and emissions by 20 , and then actually create a whole curve of outcomes that could be flexed . That is what we mean by outcome-driven supply chains . We are not interested in supplying information surrounding air freight consolidation , for example . Those are decisions automatically created by AI to hit objectives .
“ For our team one of the most important things is curiosity . From a supply chain perspective , we explore what have been barriers to change , and place a huge emphasis on understanding the outcomes that are driving the end consumers of those products . If you are curious then you will probably get to the right answers , you will understand why things haven ’ t changed and what you might be able to do to facilitate it in the future .
“ Resolving issues , from a software solution perspective , requires a thoughtful and patient approach . It requires collaboration with the business and with the market . We really emphasize collaboration in a meaningful way . We set our teams goals and we try not to get into the weeds when managing those goals . Managing people to what you believe to be the correct project program timeline is very unproductive and crushes creativity ,” he enthuses .
“ At 7bridges , we firmly believe that supply chain outcomes should be as measurable as any other operational function . Our key message at the moment to every customer we see is your supply chain will face more internal scrutiny and continued disruption over the next few years . Our solutions can help you face these challenges head on by connecting data and using it to drive business outcomes ,” he concludes . ■
Philip Ashton Founder and CEO , 7bridges scw-mag . com 13