Supply chain controlling
The Supply Chain Controlling (SCC) is a part of the supply chain management , and includes the planning, monitoring, controlling and information supply of logistical and manufacturing processes along the entire supply chain, optimization with the aim of these. Thus, within the supply chain, SCC represents a form of controlling geared towards management support .
Basics
Against the background of increasingly complex value chains, supply chain management (SCM) has gained great relevance in science and practice in recent years and has to perform extensive business management tasks. This area is summarized under the term supply chain controlling. The mere transfer of existing controlling concepts to the SCM is not sufficient, as these are mostly internal to the company. It is therefore necessary to expand or adapt to the requirements of cross-company control. In addition to past-oriented and financial key figures, future-related measured variables must also be mapped. There are different approaches to this in the literature.
definition
As before, there is no uniform definition of the term supply chain controlling, as there are heterogeneous views regarding both supply chain management and controlling. There are a number of different concepts, especially for controlling. This heterogeneity is “passed on” to the supply chain controlling, so that there are different views on the term. Many publications on this subject therefore do not contain an explicit definition. According to Westhaus, the various definition approaches can basically be assigned to four definition types:
| Type | Definition types according to Westhaus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Supply chain controlling represents a cross-company management support function. It has the task of supplying all partners chain-wide with information in order to ensure the logistical processes between the value-added partners. |
| 2 | Supply chain controlling is a form of controlling geared towards management support in the supply chain. Management support extends to the integration decisions to be made in advance [selection of partners, processes and management components] as well as the conceptual design and coordination of information and planning - and control system for the purposes of logistics. |
| 3 | Supply chain controlling encompasses the system-building and system-coupling planning and control as well as the information supply of the entire material, information, financial and service influences within a chain of companies that cooperate for the development, creation and utilization of material goods and / or services and thus supports the goal-oriented Adaptation and coordination of the overall system. |
| 4th | Supply chain controlling ensures rationality and reflection when designing and optimizing the supply chain. For this purpose, a management system is to be created, which is supported with the help of the system-building and system-coupling coordination of supply chain controlling. This is intended to ensure all cross-company processes between the value creation partners. |
The first approach focuses on the cross-company information supply in order to guarantee the functioning of the logistical processes between the partners. Central aspects of different controlling concepts such as ensuring rationality or the coordination function are not taken into account.
The second definition is based on Stölzle's requirements for supply chain controlling. A distinction is made between a strategic (integration decisions and conceptual design) and an operational level (coordination of the PKI systems). The coordination-oriented approach of controlling is represented here.
In the third type, the planning, control and information supply (PKI) of the various exchange processes or "flows" within the value chain are emphasized. A coordination-oriented approach is thus also represented. In contrast to the previous type, the aspect of leadership support is not viewed in a differentiated manner.
The fourth definition is based on controlling approaches that define rationality assurance and decision-making as a task or goal. The coordination task of controlling is also mapped.
In a Delphi study carried out by Westhaus in the spring or summer of 2004 among 25 scientists, the second definition type received the highest approval rate with 79%. Accordingly, the following definition is used as the basis for further explanations:
- "Supply chain controlling represents a management support in the supply chain. The management support extends to the integration decisions to be made in advance [selection of partners, processes and management components] as well as the conceptual design and coordination of information and management Planning and control system for the purposes of logistics. "
conditions
One of the challenges within a supply chain is to support the cooperating companies within the supply chain and to ensure the successful continuation of such cooperations in the future. In relation to a successful SCC, too, the focus must be on the joint design of instruments and goals. For this, a closed process understanding within the companies involved is essential. On this basis, for example, uniform key figures can be defined across the entire supply chain. Furthermore, an intensive exchange of information (including sensitive data) within a supply chain is a prerequisite in order to be able to use existing optimization potential or to guarantee the control of a supply chain. For this purpose, the respective internal company information systems are coordinated. The high complexity of the processes within a supply chain in particular requires additional supporting instruments that enable continuous control of the entire supply chain. The requirements for the SCC therefore go well beyond the mere provision of key figures, even if this function can be described as one of the elementary tasks.
Tasks and functions
In principle, the tasks and functions of classic controlling can be transferred to the SCC, but these must be supplemented by a cross-company approach. Furthermore, the mostly backward-looking aspects of traditional controlling cannot be applied without restrictions. In view of the strategic relevance of supply chain management, future-related control needs must be taken into account. Due to the complexity of a complete value chain, a special focus must be placed on the management of the interfaces within the SCC. Due to different views of supply chain management and classic controlling directions, different tasks and functions can be reflected on the SCC. Basically, the following functions of the SCC can be identified:
- Planning function
- Control and steering function
- Information supply function
- Coordination function
- Rationality assurance and reflection function
Depending on the design, different goals for the SCC can be derived from the functions mentioned above.
aims
Due to different controlling directions, different objectives can be pursued on the basis of the selected SCC concept. The specific tasks and functions of an individual SCC and the objectives pursued with them influence each other. The specific challenge here also lies in the cross-company character. Partly completely independent companies have to agree on a common strategy with regard to SCM and finally define uniform goals. The goals of the SCC can then also be derived on this basis. In principle, a distinction can be made between direct and indirect goals.
Direct goals
Direct goals relate directly to the support of SCM and controlling. This includes, for example, ensuring logistical processes between the individual players in a supply chain or introducing a common system of key figures to check throughput times.
Indirect goals
Company-wide (or even cross-company), more general goals can be indirectly pursued with the SCC. Examples would be competitiveness, expansion of cooperations, growth, market development or even stronger customer orientation (e.g. reducing delivery times)
Instruments
The controlling of supply chains regularly makes use of a number of traditional controlling instruments and makes modifications for these in order to improve the fulfillment of specific goals in a cross-company context. The instruments of supply chain controlling can basically be divided into two types, depending on the objective: To create uniform processes within the supply chain, instruments such as the supply chain map or the SCOR model are available. If this basis of a supply chain is guaranteed, further in-depth instruments can be used for operational and strategic control, which are described in the following sections. Compared to conventional controlling instruments, the focus is on taking more into account soft facts. Weber's frequently discussed approach suggests a combined use of four selected instruments within the framework of the SCC:
- Relationship controlling
- Comprehensive process costing
- Selective key figures
- Supply chain scorecard
Relationship controlling
An essential part of the controlling process is the management of relationship-relevant factors and the identification of potential for improvement in the partnership. A cross-company controlling cycle is available for this purpose, which, based on a common strategy, defines activities and goals as part of planning. Target / actual comparisons typical for controlling show the success of the supply chain. If significant deviations from the planning values are identified, deviation analyzes must be carried out. Another part of relationship controlling and a prerequisite for a successful supply chain is mutual trust, which can be measured, for example, through regular, commissioned surveys. If a low level of mutual trust is found, the reasons for this should be found out. Both individual and structural causes must be dealt with in a cooperative problem-solving process.
The stress and resilience portfolio as a suitable instrument for relationship controlling allows the analysis of strengths and weaknesses of a supply chain by comparing resilience and actual stress in a scoring process. While the stress factor - which includes, for example, the extent of environmental dynamics, the complexity of products / processes as well as power differences between companies - cannot be directly controlled by the actors, resilience, measured by the flow of materials, information and the level of trust, can be active be designed by the partners. Following the assessment, the illustration is made in a portfolio, from which standard strategies can be derived directly.
In the context of relationship controlling, it also makes sense to assign the characteristics of the supply chain partners and one's own dependency to four basic relationship types. A competitive relationship is when the partner has little bargaining power and there are no dependencies. In the case of partners of comparable size and certain strategic interdependencies, there is a cooperative relationship , while one speaks of a trapped relationship if a company is dependent on the more powerful partner due to a small number of alternatives. The reverse relationship structure describes the relationship that is bound by instructions , which increasingly exists in small and medium-sized companies.
Comprehensive process costing
The process costing (PKR) has become a stress-related overhead billing established as a suitable modeling method which enables a more accurate cost allocation compared to conventional accounting systems, however, is associated with high expenditure. Overall, the degree of implementation is to be assessed as low in both German and American companies. Therefore, in practice, in most supply chains, a multi-stage development process up to a completely expanded PKR is necessary in order to fully benefit from the advantages of the overarching methodology. This is based on uniformly defined and delimited cost and performance data. Due to the integration of several companies in several supply chains, the VDA recommends a cross-industry standardization as possible. In addition, the compatibility of the IT systems used for data transfer within the supply chain should not be underestimated in order to limit manual entries to a minimum and to ensure rapid availability. Depending on the implementation status, the overarching PKR results in valuable opportunities for controlling:
- Aggregation of cost and performance data for the entire supply chain (determination of overall efficiency)
- Detailed cost analysis for decisions
- Process benchmarking between the supply chain partners
- Regulation of profit sharing through cost savings
- Realization of targeted target costs for products (see target costing )
Selective key figures
The great importance of key figures for corporate controlling has already been proven many times. For a meaningful application in the context of a supply chain, a distinction must be made between three levels in the formation of indicators: At the supply chain level , indicators that describe the entire value chain are counted. The relational level includes indicators of the relationship between two partners in the supply chain, while at the company level , indicators that relate to a single company are added together. Selected key figures for the SCC are shown in the adjacent figure, whereby the distinction between operational and strategic key figures is by no means clear and should be made depending on the time horizon.
Supply Chain Balanced Scorecard (SC-BSC)
The basic model of the balanced scorecard was developed by Kaplan and Norton in the early 1990s as a system of monetary and non-monetary indicators. By modifying the content and the structure of the traditional key figure system , cross-company success potentials for optimizing processes in the value chain can be taken into account beyond the original usage. The SC-BSC usually consists of four generic perspectives, which represent the goals and measured variables in a balanced way. The selected perspectives can differ depending on the approach and company, and the use of specific sub-scorecards is also possible in practice. Based on a common strategy, the SC-BSC mostly uses uniformly defined cross-company key figures. There is still disagreement about the exact design of the SC-BSC; for a description of possible design approaches, reference is made to the overview article by Siepermann / Vockeroth (2008).
With the focus on supply chains, Weber suggests the following perspectives: finances, processes, cooperation quality and cooperation intensity.
The key figures of the financial perspective form the end of a cause-and-effect relationship, which results from the link with the other perspectives and represent effects on the profitability and asset situation of the company. The key figures used relate to, for example, freight costs or supply chain Costs, both for internal metrics and for network-specific content. Within the process perspective, it is important to depict the most significant processes. When looking at the entire supply chain, it can be determined to what extent there is an overarching flow orientation. A key goal of the process perspective can be, for example, to reduce the total lead time through the supply chain. "Hard" factors such as the quality and quantity of the data exchange or the coordination are taken into account in the perspective of cooperation intensity. Just as in the perspective of cooperation quality, which primarily consists of "soft" factors, the success of the cooperation within a supply chain should be measured. In the approach proposed by Weber, the inclusion of indices on the topics of customer satisfaction, trust and conflicts in the fourth perspective (quality of cooperation) is recommended.
literature
- M. Groll: Coordination in Supply Chain Management. Vallendar 2004.
- L. Kaufmann, T. Germer: Controlling international supply chains: positioning, instruments, perspectives. In: U. Arnold, R. Mayer, G. Urban (Eds.): Supply Chain Management: Cross-company processes, collaboration, IT standards. Bonn 2001, pp. 177-192.
- T. Reichmann: Controlling with key figures and management reports. Basics of a system-supported controlling concept. 6th edition. Munich 2001.
- S. Seuring: Supply chain controlling: summarizing recent developments in German literature. To International Journal. In: Supply Chain Management. 11/1, 2006, pp. 10-14.
- Christoph Siepermann, Jan Vockeroth: Design approaches for a network balanced scorecard. 2008.
- Wolfgang Stölzle: Supply Chain Controlling and Performance Management - Conceptual Challenges for Supply Chain Management. In: Logistics Management. Vol. 4, No. 3, 2002, pp. 10-21.
- VDA - Verband der Automobilindustrie eV: Suggestions for the design of logistical processes. Frankfurt 1996.
- Jürgen Weber: Logistics and Supply Chain Controlling. 5th edition. Stuttgart 2002.
- Magnus Westhaus: Supply Chain Controlling - definition, research status, conception. Wiesbaden 2007.
- H. Wiedemann, R. Dunz: Like - relationship management in the automotive supplier industry using the example of Sachs AG (Atecs Mannesmann). In: H. Hildebrand, U. Koppelmann (ed.): Relationship management with suppliers - concepts, instruments, proof of success. Stuttgart 2000, pp. 25-47.
- C. Winkler: Supply Chain Controlling. Düsseldorf 2008.
- K. Zimmermann: Supply Chain Balanced Scorecard. Oldenburg 2003.
Individual evidence
- ^ Weber (2002), p. 13.
- ↑ Stölzle (2002), pp. 10-21.
- ↑ Stölzle (2002), p. 11.
- ↑ Westhaus (2007), pp. 11-23, pp. 25 and 34.
- ↑ Friedl (2005), pp. 235-238.
- ↑ Westhaus (2007), p. 38f.
- ↑ Stölzle (2002), p. 11f.
- ↑ Westhaus (2007), p. 39.
- ↑ Weber (2002), pp. 185 ff.
- ↑ Stölzle (2002), pp. 10-21.
- ↑ Westhaus (2007), p. 39.
- ↑ Weber (2002), p. 189 ff.
- ↑ Weber (2002), pp. 203 ff.
- ↑ See Wiedemann / Dunz (2000), p. 42f
- ↑ See Kaufmann / Germer (2001), p. 177ff.
- ↑ See Groll (2004), p. 164.
- ↑ See Winkler (2008), p. 195.
- ↑ See Weber (2002), pp. 213ff.
- ↑ See VDA (1996) p. 6ff.
- ↑ See Weber (2002), p. 218.
- ↑ Cf. u. a. Reichmann, T. (2001).
- ↑ See Weber (2002), pp. 218f.
- ↑ See Zimmermann (2003), p. 130.
- ↑ See Siepermann / Vockeroth (2008).
- ↑ See Weber (2002), pp. 225ff.
Web links
- Encyclopedia of Information Systems : Supply Chain Controlling
- ControllingWiki: Supply Chain Controlling