Day-in, day-out we see brochures and sales pitches for advanced approaches to supply chain improvement and fancy diagnostic tools. In the midst of all this, it is easy to overlook one of the most powerful and simple approaches to improving supply chain performance: getting out and walking every last inch of the chain and asking questions of the people who make it work.

It sounds like an obvious approach but ask yourself this: how many managers in your business regularly do it and what improvements are happening as a result?

Visits need to be made to depots and stores, and journeys made on vehicles up and down the length of the supply chain. Stacks of actionable information can be gained on everything from availability issues to waste levels, and from product damage to optimal pallet configurations.

Especially at retail store level, the people involved in running the operation day-to-day are usually more than willing to help. They are listened to far too little and yet can be a goldmine of information.

One of the benefits of this approach is that you get three for the price of one: not only do you get information on the symptoms of a problem; you also get a long way towards a diagnosis of the causes of the problem; and often as not, you will get many helpful clues about the likely routes to a cure.

The credibility gained with the retailer can also be tremendous. Being able to talk with confidence and insight about the details of a retailer's operation right down the supply chain speaks volumes about how seriously you take their business and what a grip you have on all aspects of your business.

A practical tip: In persuading people of the need to act on a problem such as out-of-stocks, a picture speaks a thousand words. Photographs of half-empty fixtures or damaged product are far more likely to persuade people to act than a dry series of numbers.

All this in no way negates the value of analysing hard, quantitative data. On the contrary. Walking the supply chain can help you select what data to analyse and ensure that you do the analysis in a more efficient way.

Nick Wright