Ask them. If they don’t measure their supply chain effectiveness, they should. It shows you how well they manage their business and more importantly, how well they manage your supply chain.

The definition of  MOS is:

A Management Operating System (often abbreviated “MOS”) refers to the system of controls, communication and activity used to achieve organizational goals and objectives.

It has three main components:

1. COMMUNICATION PLAN – This plan represents how the system reports out and communicates results to key stakeholders.

2. KEY ACTIVITIES – This includes what they are, their timelines and the outputs expected.

3. CONTROLS –  The KPI’s/Metrics, current measurements and how progress is addressed.

The MOS provides overall governance with upward reporting to management in order to show progress towards the company’s strategic goals.

The Management Operations System allows a company, and especially a 3PL to create, measure, manage and communicate key operational metrics in support of their strategic plan. The MOS is the “how we get there” mechanism. It makes you “keep your eye on the prize”. The MOS is a crucial tool for achieving the strategic goals of the company. Since the Strategic Plan provides the overall roadmap for business direction and development, if a company doesn’t have a strategic plan, then how do you know if you are getting the best value in your supply chain.

So, now that we know what an MOS is, and how it supports the Strategic Plan….Does your 3PL MOS?