Complexity management: the starting point for improving performance

Abstract

Supply chains are becoming increasingly complex and more difficult to manage. While globalization shoulders a large share of responsibility for this rise in complexity, almost all aspects of the supply chain contribute to this development. Whether extending operations to new regions, launching new products and services, forming partnerships and alliances or outsourcing functions, each of these activities can create value. If they create value, these complexity-adding activities also create what we refer to as ‘good and necessary’ complexity.