Team Selection
Selecting a team to perform the supply chain analysis should take into consideration the key goals of the project. Out of a dialogue between client and those performing the supply chain analysis, clarifying these objectives at the project’s start is key. These guiding questions might help define the circle of those to include on the team:
- What input will be critical to understanding all parts of the supply chain? What input will require close collaboration with the stakeholders involved?
- Would participation in the process of completing the supply chain analysis help the stakeholders understand and buy in to the findings?
- How might the process of the supply chain analysis also serve as an opportunity to discuss important issues and to educate stakeholders over these shared concerns?
- Whose participation is key to the eventual plans for disseminating and implementing the findings of the supply chain analysis?
So that coordination, participation and consensus building might be possible, the team must be manageable in size. However, there are various ways of engaging key stakeholders in the process. Competing work priorities also set constraints on who might participate and at what level. These levels of participation include:
1) the core research team and client;
2) the key stakeholder workgroup; and
3) the larger policy/management/larger stakeholder group.
Each of these levels will be involved to varying degrees in the process of input into the supply chain analysis—providing data sources and analyses; identifying implementation challenges; responding to interviews and participating in stakeholder discussions; and offering feedback on findings and reality testing recommendations.
The core research team has the direct responsibility for conducting the analysis. This team works in close partnership with the client. Bringing in an outside group as the core research team has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that the outside group might have methodological expertise not available in-house, give dedicated time to the study of the supply chain, and importantly, offer an independent, neutral lens on these issues. The core research team also might wish to recruit an Expert Advisory Group that complements the disciplinary breadth of those doing the day-to-day work on the project. The disadvantages are that there is a learning curve and a credibility gap that any outside group faces in entering a complex environment such as a supply chain. The client can play here an effective facilitating role as the core research team familiarizes themselves with the supply chain and its key stakeholders. For the analysis to be credible, the core research team must maintain the integrity of the analysis, and the client, the commitment to hear out these findings, whether it is music to one’s ears or not. Early on, establishing a regular communications channel between the core research team and the client is essential.
The key stakeholder workgroup should represent all parts of the supply chain. Identifying these stakeholders along the spectrum of Plan/Produce/Procure/Deliver might be a useful starting point. These stakeholders may be internal or external to the client organization commissioning the supply chain analysis. The diameter of the circle of stakeholders to include in this workgroup will depend, on the one hand, the buy-in and participation sought and, on the other hand, the confidentiality and conflict of interest that may arise. As Rufus Miles’ maxim suggests, “Where you stand depends on where you sit.” For the core research team, the workgroup can be an invaluable resource and sounding board to its analysis. Identifying the fora where the findings and recommendations from the supply chain analysis might be presented can also help shape who is represented in the stakeholder workgroup.
There may still be a larger target audience to which the supply chain analysis findings will be relevant. This larger stakeholder group may consist of policymakers within the key stakeholder organizations, donors and development aid agencies, competing suppliers or potential new ones, governmental representatives, and local implementing agencies.
The client requesting the analysis ideally should be well positioned within the supply chain, and the position of the client within the supply chain will influence significantly the degree to which findings and recommendations from the supply chain analysis will be adopted. As part of the initial survey of key stakeholders, one can usefully gauge the level of buy-in at the outset of the process.