“ MY IDEAS AROUND SUPPLY CAME FROM EARTHQUAKES , WHICH YOU CAN MEASURE FROM THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY ”
Dr Partsch himself contacted us , grateful for the amendment , but added that we still didn ’ t have anything like the full story of how ‘ supply chain management ’ was born . And so we fixed up an interview , and Dr Partsch told us , in captivating detail , how he helped change the face of supply chain forever . Partsch was born in Vienna , and went on to gain a PhD in Physics from the city ’ s university . For four years in the early 1970s he was a software engineer , before becoming a logistics consultant with Kearney , in 1975 . Three years on , he joined Booz . Allen & Hamilton , where as a Senior Associate he began formulating the concept of supply chain management , with Keith Oliver part of the same team . “ Keith was a consultant ,” says Partsch . ‘ I was younger , and a mere associate . Although supply chain management was my concept , Keith was the one who presented it to clients and so he ended up getting all the glory ,” he adds , grinning .” That ’ s just the way it is .” Partsch ’ s vision for how companies can best make , move and deliver goods around the world may have been formulated over 50 years ago , but with so much disruption and uncertainty today , they have never held more sway . supplychaindigital . com 17