The Plural Of Mongoose Is Not Mongeese

The late Archie Moore, poet, philosopher, historian, and brilliant pugilist, dominated the light-heavyweight scene for years, and was affectionately known as "The Mongoose."  Archie, a favorite of both boxing aficionados and the sporting press, often began his excursions into the lessons of the past with his signature opening, "In them days . . ."

Regrettably, "in them days" doesn't help us all that much in the world of supply chain management.  Yesterday's touchstones are today's pitfalls.  The old rules are turned inside out by continually evolving change in the scope and scale of our working universe, and by the roller coaster ride of violent shifts in the economics of both solutions planning and operational execution.

Not least, the pendulum swings both ways in how we manage business relationships within the supply chain.  We seemed to be moving toward positive change in the quality of relationships a few years ago, after generations of adversarial transaction-based combat among organizations that logically should have been collaborative partners.

Then came the Great Recession, with immediate capacity reductions in transport, unholy price demands from customers, and galloping fuel cost increases hard on its heels.  Combat was suddenly back in vogue, this time with AK-47s.

Now, things seem to be moderating a bit.  Capacity is still constrained, and fuel costs are still high, but slightly reduced from the peaks.  A growing number of leaders are saying the right things about making nice and playing well together with supply chain partners.

Will it stick this time?  Are we on the threshold of making enlightened relationships the accepted norm in supply chain management?  One can hope that at some point we'll be able look back fondly on the year the tide turned "in them days."