Through the last half of the 20th century there were a series of important, but relatively small, incremental steps in what we called logistics – how we got what we needed, where we needed it and when we needed it. However, in the last decade or so the science has changed just not incrementally but in its very nature. So much so that we now think of it as supply chain management (SCM). SCM is more than simply the what-when-where, it is the coordination of information using sophisticated technology including IT, GPS and tracking devices. The next few slides briefly introduces some of these concepts using something most of us have experienced – the auto collision repair industry aka the “body shop”.

1

Two views of the industry – the way it has traditionally operated with little or no SCM and the view taken in the last decade as the industry embraced SCM and technology

2

A traditional view of SCM focused on quantitative measures as shown above – primarily a “how many, how fast” approach. The newer approach still measures the quantitative metrics but is increasingly interested in managing the relationships and interactions in each link of the chain. For an interesting comparison look up
“balanced scorecard” on the Internet.

3

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A comparison of the old and new approach to managing the collision repair enterprise. Some of this is the result of increasingly sophisticated owners, including outside investors

5

Three important