When Peter Jones, Prological Consulting Founder and Managing Director, entered the supply chain industry 30 years ago, it was a world of handwritten consignment notes, AS400 systems with green screens, and manual systems that took half a day to track a shipment, if you were lucky.
But more than technology, he says it is the mindset that has had the biggest transformation in supply chain.
“Supply chain was absolutely seen as a cost centre,” Peter says. “From the rest of the businesses perspective, it was almost seen as just the people in the blue singlets down the back.”
“How hard can it be? Just get the stuff off the shelf, stick it on a truck.”
He says there wasn’t much sophistication beyond that. Warehouses were managed with inventory control systems within early versions of ERP platforms, 30 years ago, there were still plenty of legacy systems installed in the 1970s and 80s. Transport consignment notes were handwritten and then re-typed by transport providers for billing. Can you image a room full of, typically young women, doing data entry off hundreds – or thousands in the case of road express carriers – handwritten, 2 and 3-part carbon copy con notes.
“How could any anything ever be wrong?” The receivers copy and the POD copy of the consignment notes had supply chain pathways of their own. Track and trace didn’t exist, and automation was years away from arriving. These rudimentary processes were across the supply chain from start to finish.
“If you wanted to know where something was, you’d make four phone calls and wait half a day, and then you might find out,” Peter recalls.
From fundamentals to a strategy essential
Thirty years ago, businesses were only focused on getting the fundamentals right. Peter says warehouse management systems were beginning to emerge but they were uncommon. They were much less technical than what’s out there today, mainly location and inventory control focussed. For most businesses, they were largely theoretical. When I first started out, warehouse management systems were rare. They existed, but they were pretty basic compared to what they do now,” Peter says.
“Freight was always at the front and centre of business decisions because it was such a big visible cost.”
Peter says he’s watched supply chain expand to become a vital pillar of business strategy and growth. It demands investment in people, infrastructure, and resources.
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“If you’re not doing supply chain well, your business is not going to be in the game for very long,” Peter says. He points to warehouse management systems, inventory management platforms, warehouse control systems that integrate with automation, and ERP, and indicates that these systems, which were once cutting-edge technology, are now baseline requirements for businesses.
“What used to be a necessary evil and a cost for mature businesses, is today a place where they can differentiate themselves and mark distinctive competency.”
The rate of change is accelerating
Peter says the most striking observation from three decades in the industry is how quickly the rate of change has moved.
“Everything is accelerating,” Peter says. “The change is quicker and it’s becoming more technical. Higher degrees of expertise are required, and it is much more multi-faceted.”
He points to how automation has evolved over the last decade. When automation first entered mainstream conversations, companies retrofitted existing buildings to install the new technology. Today, many companies recognise their facilities need to be purpose-built or designed for new technological requirements.
“There’s a recognition that the building that is specific to the automation required for each business will deliver a far superior outcome than a constrained automation design due to the limitations of the building,” Peter says.
The industry now requires expertise across multiple verticals, including network design, warehouse operations, automation strategy, industrial property, supply chain execution tools (S&OP, WMS, WCS, FMS, TMS etc.), and sustainability, Peter explains.
“Each area demands specialised knowledge. The generalist approach that worked 30 years ago just doesn’t cut it anymore.”
Moving with the evolution, not falling behind
When thinking about how much has changed for the industry, Peter says it’s hard to know what will be next when the pace of change keeps getting faster.
He says supply chain’s evolution follows the same trajectory as consumer technology. And just as technology advances have reshaped how consumers interact with businesses, changing consumer expectations continue to alter supply chain strategy.
This is particularly evident when focusing on the rise of e-commerce over the past decade. What began as a novel sales channel has become a primary driver of supply chain strategy. Same-day delivery, real-time inventory visibility, and seamless returns weren’t considerations businesses needed to account for 30 years ago. Today, they dictate warehouse locations, warehouse design, procurement, inventory management and automation investments, and entire network designs.
“The things that used to be really important still have to happen, but now they’re just seen as ’a ticket to the game’,” he reflects.
“Other things have evolved and become more central to creating and maintianing an efficient supply chain, one that provides the customer with a great experience, be it B2B or B2C.”
The march of progress
When reflecting on how much has changed over his time in the industry, Peter maintains that supply chain has always been a discipline about creating value, solving complex problems, and collaboration.
“For mature businesses, they see it as a place to differentiate themselves, a place of distinctive competency,” Peter says. “It’s an area of the business that requires investment in people and infrastructure and resources in order to do it well.”
Thirty years in, he says the industry looks unrecognisable from when I started.
For a long time Peter has said, “if you are doing tomorrow what you were doing yesterday, you are going backwards.” This 30 year reflection confirms the rate and scale of change has been immense, and yet, the evolution of supply chains is only speeding up
Peter is Managing Director and Founder of Prological Australia, Prological NZ and Cological. In January 2018, he also founded Prological Consulting UK.
While Prological has been successfully operating for close to 10 years, Peter has been an innovative supply chain consultant for over two decades. Before establishing Prological, he was also a founding partner of Logiworx consulting practice from 2002 to 2010.
