Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt of a guest blog post by Adrian Gonzalez published by Manhattan Associates. The post highlights results from a survey conducted recently with members of Indago’s supply chain research community on the factors that provide the greatest resistance to change when it comes to supply chain capabilities.
According to Wikipedia, “Gleicher’s Formula” for change (D x V x F > R = ∆) was created by David Gleicher at Arthur D. Little in the early 1960s. The variables are defined as follows:
D: Signifies the degree of dissatisfaction with the current situation.
V: The vision of what can be done and what is possible.
F: A plan of the first concrete steps that can be taken towards materializing the vision.
R: The resistance to change.
∆: Change
In a survey conducted in October 2022 with members of the Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — we explored aspects of Gleicher’s Formula from a supply chain management perspective.
Since supply chain professionals often mention “change management” as a big challenge in driving innovation at their companies, the survey focused on that part of the formula. We asked Indago members, “When it comes to your supply chain capabilities, which factors provide the greatest resistance to change?”
“Lack of resources” topped the list of factors that provide the greatest resistance to change, with 64% of our member respondents selecting it. It was followed by “Lack of upper management support” (52%) and “Lack of investment budget” (44%).
Indago members were also asked, “What actions/steps are you taking over the next year to realize your vision of ‘what can be done and what is possible’ in your supply chain?”
Read the rest of the commentary for all the survey results, plus analysis and recommendations.
