I was emailing with a well known consultant about reducing transportation costs. His response was if you cut inventory you will cut your transportation costs. In other words, take a holistic view of the supply chain.
Almost anybody’s jobs involves numerous day to day activities, budgets, memos, processes, fires, and distractions. The trees are visible but not the forest. If you are so focus on cutting transportation costs by lower rates, you might not think of other processes in the supply chain which will have a higher impact on your overall total costs.
How do you avoid getting into those ruts. The simple answer is devote time to learning. Learning can come in many ways, professional periodicals, networking with others in the field, professional organizations, universities and colleges.
I must admit when I suggest to this to some people there sort of blank stare. You can guess what they are thinking. I too busy for this. Why waster my time on article in professional publications different from my field expertise. There is a cure for those blank stares, it is a love of learning.
Ultimately we live in a supply chain world of change. Just as our bodies need physical exercise, for us to see around the corner, brain “exercise” is needed. From learning and education we can learn how not to limit our focus just to the immediate facts in front of us but to a wider world.