When your supply chain is an iceberg

Now we come to learn that the root cause of the Titanic's sinking 96 years ago today was, of all things, poor supplier-quality management.

A recently published book details how the shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff (still in existence today) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, resorted to using low-quality iron rivets in its rush to nearly-simultaneously launch the Titanic and two other "Olympic-class" super-liners (the three largest ships in the world at that time).

The narrative of how the shipyard's management team created its own supply-chain challenges - and then failed to address them - plays out like a modern-day supplier-network crisis. It also conjures up memories of how quality problems with a seemingly insignificant component on the Space Shuttle Challenger nearly put an end to the entire U.S. space-exploration program.

In proving their 10-year old theory that faulty rivets contributed to the Titanic's quick demise, the authors (who happen to be metallurgists) apparently conducted an extraordinary amount of archival, metallurgical and forensic research. According to a review of the researchers' findings in The New York Times "...troubles began when its ambitious building plans forced Harland and Wolff to reach beyond its usual suppliers of rivet iron and include smaller forges" with less experience in making higher-grade iron rivets.

The researchers found that not only did shipyard managers take risks with materials, but with labor as well. With a full-on effort underway to launch multiple large ships, Harland and Wolff management brought in less-skilled riveters to help finish the job ("good riveting took great skill," according to the Times article).

All these risks weren't taken without some serious hand-wringing. One of the authors of the book told the Times that shipyard management discussed the shortage of skilled riveters at every meeting for six months leading up to the Titanic's launch. How many times have we seen this scenario play out since the Titanic with other products and industries?

It all comes back to the issue of supplier discovery, due diligence and supply-chain risk assessment. Few companies - especially when faced with aggressive, high-stakes product launch schedules - ever invest in critical supplier-investigation activities. But these are the times when having unfiltered market intelligence about your existing or potential new suppliers is most important. Think about it: all the leading cost-, quality- and delivery-management software tools available today would never have revealed the true weaknesses in the Titanic's supply-chain.

Make the effort and investment to assess your supply-chain before it sinks you.