In Ironman Triathlon there are 3 events – Swimming, Cycling and Running. Total performance judged the winner, not by a single score in a single event. Because the athlete must do well in all events, he has little opportunity to perfect any one event. A contender trying to improve performance in one specific event is likely to deteriorate in another, because the physical demands of the various events are conflicting.
His training is necessarily different as he strives to improve all techniques, gain strength without losing speed, and acquire the stamina to perform through a competition that lasts at least 10 hours. In short, he trains to raise performance making trade-offs with the end in mind. A supply chain is like a Triathlon.
Companies need to do well in source, make, deliver, sell, innovation, customer service, order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, inventory management, and sustainability. The company that can both lower total costs and drive innovation is good at trade-offs. They understand that to win the race, that they may score 2nd or 3rd in these individual competitions to win the total score. And, that they will lose if they try to be the best in every event.
Fact: The company that tries to be the lowest cost in all functions ends up with higher total costs.
