One manifestation of living long is that one has seen, if not everything, at least many things. A manifestation of being on the younger side is that many things are being seen for the first time, and with no other point of reference may, among many options, be categorized as:
- Denounced in horror, as the work of Satan
- Embraced with gusto, as the next big thing
- Ignored, as mere chatter
- Heralded as game-changers, as kinks are worked out and weaknesses are shored up
- Overshadowed by the simultaneous arrival of other solutions in search of problems.
MARCHING TO THE HEAD OF THE PARADE
Promoting the apparently new concept draws in armies of fervent supporters. The trade press is always on the lookout for compelling and provocative content. Academics do not want to seem to be run over by the bandwagon. Earnest and brilliant practitioners extol the virtues and vision of whatever's next and trumpet the promise and potential of the latest and greatest.
Consultants, of course, cannot afford to suffer body blows to their images if they don't appear to be both wise and current. And industry observers and commentators also are compelled to display relevance, along with brilliant mating plumage.
Research is conducted, surveys are carried out, results and conclusions are published. But take a moment when the next PR tsunami wipes out rational discourse. Is the concept really new? (Aha!) Or simply more effective or efficient (e.g., lower-cost, faster-speed mobile wireless access)? (Duh!)
WHAT'S OLD IS NEW AGAIN
News flash! As we've frequently reported, Sears was doing business-to-consumer (B2C) order fulfillment from a megadistribution center over a century ago. (As was Aaron Montgomery Ward.) The only differences of significance from today? U.S. mail as input vs. e-mail or mobile entry. Physical delivery by a third party unknown today (Railway Express) vs. FedEx, UPS, or, believe it or not, the U.S. Postal Service.
Shared transportation, with either competitive or complementary independent companies, has been significantly enabled by new information technology capabilities and a renewed emphasis on cooperation and collaboration in new-century business models. Of course, 40 years ago, we called this aha! practice "pooling." Duh!
In the day, we lacked the power and scope of planning and execution software. There was no warehouse management software, for example. But we still kept meticulous inventory records (on cards), planned pick waves as best we could by thinking through needs and priorities, and slotted products, sometimes based on affinity, sometimes on source, and sometimes on throughput objectives, and sometimes on customer demand priorities. To be honest, it was not easy, and it was extremely difficult to replicate day after day. But it wasn't that we didn't do these things in an age in which fire was a new and precious resource, and we created art by tracing 'round our hands on cave walls.
We have, it seems, evolved through a series of developments in which the rising generation cries "Aha!" and the old codgers sit at the fire and mutter "Duh!" Occasionally, someone in either camp will see the light and make the connections. That's when the Homer Simpson "D'oh!" kicks in.
WHEN AHAs COLLIDE
In the early days of radio-frequency identification (RFID), which some think we're still in, the literature was full to overflowing, even littered, with pretentious writing positioning its authors to be recognized as prescient. Those enamored of other hot concepts focused on the weaknesses of the emerging technology—challenges in wet environments, conquering metallic obstacles, etc. They said, in essence, "Readable technology in or on a package of chewing gum? Not in my lifetime—or yours! Cost will stop this dead in its tracks."
Guess what, again? In their lifetimes, the moisture and materiel kinks have been largely worked out. Chip costs have plummeted. RFID is no longer limited to high-cost/value applications, such as automobiles, E-ZPass tolls, mink coats, and lift tickets at pricey Alpine retreats. The future is now, and something even brighter is probably just around the corner.
HOW EVOLUTION WORKS
But, face it. RFID is just the latest version of "automatic identification." One beginning was the sudden appearance of strange markings on the sides of railcars and continued into the ubiquitous bar code that has gingerly worked its way onto everything under the sun, and from hesitant limited usage, even rejection, to a prime source of real-time information for businesses.
So, the concept is rock solid and mature. The implementation has been 1) made possible, and 2) continually evolving, owing to technology.
A PARALLEL?
Is there a lesson here, a learning that is useful beyond the parable? An old puzzle for children was the riddle involving the fox, the rabbit, and the lettuce. The challenge for their master was to take them across a river in a boat that would hold only two: the master and one other.
The rabbit cannot be left alone with the lettuce, lest he eat it all up. The fox cannot be left alone with the rabbit, lest he eat it all up. The fox can be left alone with the lettuce, but what's the fun of that? So, how can the master get all three—and himself—across the river?
If we change the cast, the **ital{dramatis personae,} to something completely different, will the options change? Let's say that the boss has a box of apps, a techno-geek, and a sales superstar.
The techno-geek cannot be left alone with the box of apps, lest he bug them all. The sales superstar cannot be left alone with the techno-geek, lest he sell all the apps to the geek. The sales superstar can safely be left with the apps because he doesn't really know how to use them.
AT THE END OF THE DAY
Even with the updates, the core of the riddle does not change. And so it is with many of our Ahas. We have very, very few completely new ideas to contemplate, either in our supply chain and logistics arenas or in life. We do have, thanks to technology and a bent for continuous improvement, many core concepts that grow in power and usefulness over time (while retaining their core concepts and objectives).
It is OK to celebrate improvement, new applications for old tools, and the march of progress. But let's save the coronations, jubilees, proclamations, and euphoria for those few genuine breakthroughs—and begin the work of evolving them to new levels, too.
