A tech lingo sanity check

Occasionally in my work with clients, I will say some jargon that clearly does not register.  And in an effort to clarify, I always try to think of a better way to explain that just providing a definition.  So for you all you hybrid supply chain geeks/movie buffs, here are my thoughts on some ways we can share our jargon in a clearer way…

Functional Silos:“What we've got here… is failure to communicate.” – Cool Hand Luke

Cost-to-Serve: “SHOW ME THE MONEY!” – Jerry McGuire

Best Practices: “I'll have what she's having…” – When Harry Met Sally

Demand Sensing:“You talkin to me?!” – Taxi Driver

Demand Shaping:“These aren't the droids you're looking for.” – Star Wars

Predictive Analytics: “They've done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.” – Anchorman

Capacity Management: “You're gonna need a bigger boat.” – Jaws

Risk Management: “There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?” – Airplane

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP): “You can't handle the truth!” – A Few Good Men

Network Visibility: “If I'm walking into a sh*t-storm, I want to know which way the wind's blowing.” – Spy Game

Collaboration: “Keep your friends close… but your enemies closer.” – The Godfather II

End-of-Life Management: “Goonies never say die!” – The Goonies

Benchmarking: “I'm not perfect, but who are we kidding, neither are you.” – Wedding Crashers

Cost / Benefit Analysis: “All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work.” – Sergeant Bilko

Fulfillment: “Why don't you just go home? That's your home. Are you to good for home? Answer me!” – Happy Gilmore

Tradeoff Analytics: “Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?” – Zoolander

Continuous Improvement: “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.”– Dodgeball

And for anyone in supply chain management… “I don't have to take this abuse from you; I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me.” – Ghostbusters

Matt Davis is an analyst with Gartner. You can read his other blog posts here.