Part of my new role was to build a new Center of Excellence team within EMEA Supply Chain.

When I talked to my new colleagues, the expectations were that a COE should be a partner, a teacher, an expert, a pilot, an innovator and potentially more depending on the company or industry. Pretty simple, right? What is easy is to put too many hats on the COE and expect all problems to be solved. Recipe for disaster.

To simplify expectations and help you with some ideas about where the COE can add the most value today, we are starting a series of articles focusing on the key areas or pillars to focus on:

• Knowledge Hub
• Continuous Improvement
• Process Innovation
• New Technologies

This article provides a brief overview of each of the pillars. Future articles will expand on this information and include examples of how to achieve highest value.

In no particular order of importance, we will begin with Knowledge Hub, a repository of information and knowledge. In most companies, there is often a vast amount of documents, procedures, training materials, rules and regulations, etc., which can make it very difficult to navigate the information jungle. COE should act as a collector of knowledge, refining the information and making sure that everything is easy to find, complete, up-to-date and relevant for the department.

Second pillar is Continuous Improvement – we don’t stop the evolution. Continuous Improvement became omnipresent in any company. It is crucial to understand that, in today’s competitive landscape, striving for continuous improvement is essential for success. COE should be the primary driver of continuous improvement, facilitating initiatives, workshops, brainstorms sessions and any other medium where people can come together and discuss ideas.

Next we have Process Innovation – the forgotten sibling of Continuous Improvement. Many projects, new implementations, and continuous improvement initiatives fail to consider the process, treating it as an afterthought in the roadmap. The first step for the COE should be to ensure that all projects, initiatives, and changes include process management. The second step should be to assess the current process for improvements and innovation, with the goal of making it more lean and efficient.

Final pillar is New Technologies – AI is everywhere. The current pace of technological advancement is rapid, and companies must consider how these new technologies can enhance the efficiency of their supply chains. COE should leverage its expertise and insights from previous pillars to conduct market research and pilot multiple high-value improvement initiatives.

While there are other areas where a Center of Excellence can bring value, the best chances for a great Return on Investment is to focus on these 4 important pillars. In the next article in the series, we will examine the Knowledge Hub in greater detail and explore how providing easy access to information can lead your company to rule the world…or at least achieving yearly KPIs.