Pivot Supply method : study case N°1 [août 2019]

To name an agile procurement capability,  the consultant AT Kearney uses the phrase "Pivoting  Supply Chain" [1a].
According to the consultant, a "pivoting supply chain" has two capabilities [1b] :

1. "Sense [capability] : knowing, in real time, when conditions and demands vary from what is anticipated". 
2. "Pivot [capability] : flexible decision making, processes and assets [to enable] a supply chain to nimbly change course in response to the unexpected".

The following study case helps to understand what a Pivot Supply method can be.

It is based on the experience of a digital service ("Personal MOOC") which was awarded on January 27. 2015 an innovation trophee by a 4000 + members IT managers Paris based association [2].

Any resemblance to existing characters or companies would be pure coincidence. The links to the real world and graphic are for illustrative purposes only.

[1a] Why Supply Chains Must Pivot, Laurent Chevreux, Michael Hu, and Suketu Gandhi [AT Kearney] July 19, 2018, MIT Sloan Management Review
[1b] A pivoting supply chain, AT Kearney
[2] 5ème IT innovation Forum : le digital à l’honneur, IT, Tristan Karache, 30 janvier 2015, iTPro.fr

An MVP to edit and power online courses

Oct 2013 : The world class education institution Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, opened its first massive open online course (MOOC) on Coursera plateform, which triggered in France awareness of this innovative approach for education.

Nov. 2013 : Following a conference on Ecole Polytechnique MOOCs [1], AGF-Paris, a consulting SME, felt that the MOOC approach might bring business opportunities to consulting and embarked with a non govermental organisation for equal opportunities in higher studies [2] on a joined project : enable the 470 000 teachers of the French secondary school with a free tool to edit and power online courses.

On January 7. 2014, the project was given an opportunity to talk at a Master Class produced by Institut Mines Telecom / Business School and titled "Mooc invasion : get ready" scheduled 5 weeks later.

On February 13. 2014 [3a], the talk was delivered, but with a demonstration of a solution to edit and power online courses at no marginal costs  [3b].

On January 27. 2015, the solution was awarded an innovation trophee by CRIP, an association of IT managers [4].

On October 2. 2015, AGF-Paris delivered a talk titled "What if MOOC means Massive Open Online Consulting ? " [5]

Illustrative data
[1] Table ronde sur les MOOCs de Polytechnique, X-Open-Innovation, 4 Nov. 2013
[2] Bilan de la première édition Les Entretiens  de l'Excellence Polytechnique, 2016, X-Diversité, 24 Janvier 2017
[3a] Organic MOOC to be revealed at Telecom Management EMBA Master Class , X-Open-Innovation, Feb 3, 2014
[3b]  Le Personal MOOC, un cas d'ingénierie frugale (MOOC-Pitch) , Le répertoire de l'entreprise numérique créative, 17 mars 2014
[4]  5ème IT innovation Forum : le digital à l’honneur, IT, Tristan Karache, 30 janvier 2015, iTPro.fr
[5] Et si le C de MOOC voulait dire consulting ?  Do-Khac Decision, 2 octobre 2015

Study case questions

1. What are the reasons to view the digital service Personal MOOC as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) ?
2. Which supplies have been integrated into the Personal MOOC ? 
3. Which supplies have been pivoted by AGF-Paris ?
4. Imagine a process that could have helped AGF-Paris to pivot these supplies ? 
5. What capabilities should be mobilized in your enterprise to implement the Pivot Supply method ?
6. Which elements of the Business Model Pavement for Digital (BMPD edited by Do-Khac Decision and whose design is inspired by the Business Model Canvas, BMC, edited by Strategyzer), invite to agility ?

Suggested management frameworks and design management tools to explore the problematics

• IT Regime Management, Do-Khac Decision [a]
• Business Model Pavement for Digital (BMPD), Do-Khac Decision [b]

[a] "L'IT Regime Management, un gouvernance de systèmes d'information lean", Tru Do-Khac, Le Cercle Les Echos, 23 mai 2012
[b] Trois business ontologies pour l'entreprise numérique, L'entreprise numérique créative, 27 Aug 2015

The study case complies to the format of an "Entreprise Adventure Game cell"[A].

In addition of the study case components provided above, the format defines 

• the use of Agile games
• a monitoring team (academic professors, coaches, seasoned professionals)
• physical and digital workspace infrastructure facilities

For a full experience, you are invited to contact Do-Khac Decision.

If you like the above study case : a study case featuring again AGF-Paris, but eager to share its findings with its peers by talking at a yearly conference named French Touch Agile Conference [B].



[A] A 7-elements format of an Enterprise Adventure Game Cell , L'entreprise numérique créative, 18 July 2019
[B] Provoke Trigger Event method : study case N°2, Gouvernance de l'entreprise numérique créative, 7 juillet 2019