It’s not how a company fares at the beginning of a recession that determines its future, a North Carolina business leader told Elon students this week, it’s whether that company takes advantage of opportunities during the downturn. Dr. James A. Tompkins, founder of a global supply chain consulting firm, on Feb. 24 shared stories of what he says are the promises of globalization in the 21st century.
And the way of thinking about “globalization” also needs to change, he said. “Are you working for a North American company that happens to be doing business globally,” he said, “or are you working for a global company that happens to be headquartered in North America?”
Hosted by the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, Tompkins’s appearance took place the same week that the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to its lowest level since 1997. He remained upbeat, though, on the prospects for businesses that reassess the efficiencies at a time when the standard practice is simply to cut costs and resources rather than examine inefficient practices.
“Research show that it’s not your position when you enter the recession, it’s what you do during the recession,” Tompkins said, likening the marketplace to the Tour de France. “The ones who can pass on the up hills are the ones who are going to win the race.”
How do companies better themselves? Easy, he said. Streamline supply chains – the buy-make-move-store-sell processes – where companies find money wasted on transporting goods or storing merchandise when inefficiencies can be eliminated.
“Would you rather work for a great company in a pretty good supply chain,” he said, “or a pretty good company in a great supply chain?”
Tompkins also spent time addressing China’s effect on the global marketplace. He argued that efficiencies the Chinese have developed in their manufacturing processes make the nation an important player in developing any global supply chain, though it should not be the only place companies look to for growth.
Tompkins is CEO and president of Tompkins Associates. He has had extensive consulting experience in both the fields of logistics and supply chain, and he has published or contributed to more than 25 books. Tompkins is also credited to more than 500 published articles.
One daughter graduated Elon, and his son attended as well, before leaving school to start his own successful enterprises.