MCU & Disney showing importance of supply chain through movies

Hello ladies & gentlemen!

This week we are going to have a look at some interesting supply chain lessons from movies. 

So we shall begin with my favorite on the top of the list,

Captain America: Civil War

Generally in an organization, you find departments competing against each other to achieve their own strategic goals. If you can think of it then that's what you have experienced watching this movie. The most iconic scene of this movie is the airport fight scene where heroes take sides with Captain America and Iron man.
The sales dept is headed by Iron man trying to force his views on the team supply chain or team captain America. The supply chain team knows exactly how to minimize costs, deliver products on time, and optimize the business process, like how cap knew about super soldiers from bucky who are about to be released from Siberia. After a long fight among the heroes, Iron man finally realizes that he should have listened to Cap (supply chain professional). 

Lesson is that the Sales dept should trust its supply chain professionals. "As the old man(cap) says, together".

Deadpool

The most important part of any supply chain is its ability to recover from any crisis and continue optimizing. If you think of someone who can never die and keeps recovering, and if you are a marvel fan, then Deadpool should be the 1st one that should come to your mind. The supplier puts a bullet to your head, try and find a new supplier. Customers stab a knife in the chest, move on, and optimize your delivery and product quality. 

No matter what, at the end make sure the customer gets quality products while keeping the profits running, like Stan Lee and Deadpool franchise.

Moana

The supply chain is back-ordered and Moana travels to far off places to ensure optimized sourcing and supplier engagement can get the company back on track. Along the way, she teams up with a demi-god, fights pirate coconuts, and becomes chief supply chain officer. 

Moana is a supply chain parable about ensuring they can deliver what the customers want (island’s fish and plant life is dying!) when they want it (now) and spend as little money as possible getting that done (one negotiation with a stubborn supplier, or a lava demon, was all it took). 

Zootopia

This movie is one such that shows the importance of supply chain in & out of the movie. A supply chain movie is one that delivers its customers (us) what we want (entertainment) when we want it (when we’re watching the said movie) and do that by spending as little money as possible (and while Zootopia cost around $150 million to make, it grossed over a billion dollars worldwide & we’d all take a cost of goods that is 15% of our revenue). So, while Zootopia meets the standard supply chain movie definition, it’s also that rare movie that actually shows a working supply chain. The storyline clearly tells how Judy Hopps struggles hard to save the city (company) as a ZPD officer (Supply chain professional) gets in partnership with a fox (supplier) and delivers what the customer wants. But not trusting the supplier causes trouble and later she realizes and joins hand with the fox to solve the most challenging problem and emerges successful. This success is not just for the company but also for the supplier (fox).

If you have not watched these movies, I would advise you to watch them, as they tell us a lot more stories than the one they are intended for.

See you later! Until then Adios, Amigo!

-Varadharaju R