Knowledge sharing in supply chain: What is the right approach?

Filed in archive Point of view on July 19, 2008

Even though the result of the recent research by Matthew B. Myers and Mee-Shew Cheung, published in MIT Sloan Management Review, has shown that during supply chain Knowledge Sharing activities, suppliers benefit more, their work doesn't entirely mean that it's a zero-sum game: Supply Chain Knowledge Sharing can benefit all the players in the network.

However, I think the problem is not lack of knowledge about importance of knowledge sharing but operationalizing it. There are two types of knowledge: The ones which can easily be codified: Inventory levels, Target Service level, Estimated sales, production schedules and prices are examples of this category. I think now there is no shortage of software solutions and collaborative applications regarding this type of knowledge and the straight-forward recommendation for operationalization of knowledge sharing here is: Automate.

Then comes the second category; the type of knowledge which can't be easily codified or Tacit knowledge: Market behavior know-how, managerial and communication skills, and organizational memory are examples of this category. My recommendation is to focus on human skills in this category; In other words, regular communication between the managers of the collaborating companies, joint planning sessions, and shared memory between the companies can be more viable solutions than simply using a software.

So the key takeaway is: There are different types of knowledge to be shared in supply chain and the companies should use approaches like automation, joint human-based knowledge sharing and knowledge integration based on the type of the knowledge.