Don’t Use Old Logistics Tools to Build an Advanced Supply Chain

You may think you’re using the right tool for the job when the tool is actually preventing you from doing the job right. Look at American car manufacturers – they used standard slotted screws in all their assembly lines until 1936, when Henry Phillips got Cadillac to use his cross-grooved screw and power screwdriver. Phillips screws and drivers worked better than slotted screws on automated lines – the driver seated better in the groove during screwing and "jumped out" of the groove when the screw was fully embedded – and by 1940 virtually all car manufacturers were using Phillips-head screws and drivers. Slotted screws had worked well in a manual production environment, but caused inefficiencies in an automated environment that the Phillips screw eliminated.