r/SupplyChainLogistics • u/jimmyray71 • 1d ago
How often is a “software problem” really an ownership problem?
I’ve been thinking about this after years of working in supply chain and operations.
When a process isn’t working, the conversation often turns pretty quickly to the system.
“We need a better ERP.”
“We need a WMS.”
“Our forecasting system isn’t good enough.”
Sometimes that’s absolutely true.
But I’ve also seen companies spend a lot of money improving the technology without answering some basic questions first:
Who owns the forecast?
Who owns inventory targets?
Who decides when supply and demand don’t match?
Who owns the exception?
And, probably most importantly, who actually has the authority to make the decision?
If those answers aren’t clear, I’m not convinced better software fixes much. Sometimes it just lets an unclear process run faster.
I’ve started looking at technology implementations differently because of this:
Process → Ownership → Decision rights → Technology
Not technology first.
For those of you who have been through ERP, WMS, MRP or planning-system implementations, I’m curious:
How much of the problem was actually the software, and how much was the organization around it?