A VC in Vacationland

WikiSCM is the latest addition to our knowledge base in supply chain.  While I am in favor of providing a clear definitions of various supply chain terms, this site falls far short. 

First, the site does not have definitions of the supply chain basics, like transportation management systems.  I realize that individual contributors need to add their input to the site to make it successful, but the founders should have done a better job recruiting experts to provide fundemental content on the site.

Second, the existing posts scream for an editor. Overly wordy sentences, pedantic writing styles and lots of irrelevant thoughts characterize many of the existing posts.  Personal opinion trumps fact in a number a cases, with the authors providing their own opinion of “how stuff should operate”.  These are not necessarily widely accepted best practices (such as using Six Sigma to run your S&OP process–try explaining that to the sales guys). And the S&OP section did not mention Integrated Business Planning, the latest trend in managing supply and demand in a supply chain.

Finally, the identity of the founders and authors are masked, as in most wikis, so one does not know who wrote what.  Although the site does say the posts need to be non-commercial and not mention products or services, I was not convinced that the authors were not pushing an agenda.  Topic choice for posts was focused on issues that are hot among consultants, but not necessarily mainstream as yet, such as risk management.

My recommendation is to buy or borrow a good supply chain textbook, such as The Practice of Supply Chain Management: Where Theory and Application Converge by Hau Lee and other editors.  You will find well thought out explanations of how best to design and operate various supply chain processes to help you improve your supply chain operations.

WikiSCM may still end up being what it promises to be, but more people with direct knowledge of best practices in supply chain need to get involved.