FOREWORD Supply chain visionary lights the way
In the late 70s , Dr Wolfgang Partsch gave us supply chain management , and his thinking is more relevant today than ever
Every industry has an elite group of thinkers – visionaries who have shaped the working worlds of generations of professionals .
“ Visionaries like
Wolfgang Partsch are able to see , and articulate , simple , timeless truths about the world around us ”
In supply chain , one of those thinkers is Wolfgang Partsch , who in the late 1970s created the concept of supply chain management .
This issue includes an interview with Dr Partsch . Five decades ago , the Austrian-born doctor of physics had a vision for how companies can best make , move and deliver goods around the world .
“ My vision was to break up information silos ,” he says . “ The goal was to help businesses see from one end to the other , operationally , with no interruption of information .”
Sound familiar ? Today , supply chain professionals call it ‘ having end-to-end supply chain visibility ’.
Fifty years on , everything – and yet nothing – has changed in supply chain . This is precisely why people like Dr Partsch are visionaries : they are able to see , and articulate , simple , timeless truths about the world around us .
His story makes for fascinating reading , as do his views on today ’ s supply chain challenges , many of which are explored throughout this issue .
SUPPLYCHAIN DIGITAL MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY
SEAN ASHCROFT sean . ashcroft @ bizclikmedia . com © 2023 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED supplychaindigital . com 5