Methodology before technology [supply chain re-engineering]

Supply chain re-engineering is a difficult exercise with potentially far-reaching implications for all involved. Simulation can help to avoid some of the pitfalls. Supply chain re-engineering aims to overcome the distorting effects of industrial dynamics by looking closely at the main flows that constitute the supply chain. These are the flow of information `down´ the supply chain, the movement of material `up´ the supply chain towards the end customer, the transfer of cash between levels, and in more sophisticated supply chains, the two-way flow of resources. The most demanding task of supply chain re-engineering is to establish a method by which the `law of industrial dynamics´ may be suppressed or minimised