Tag: communication

What is in Season?

Mike 0 Comment Business Forecast, Collaboration, Communication, Expert Advice, Uncategorized , , , , , , , ,

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In 1965, a folk-rock band, ‘The Byrds’, recorded their version of Pete Seeger’s song, ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’. The lyrics refer to there being a time for many activities and events, including a time to plant and a time to harvest. Although I’ve heard the song hundreds of times over the years, it had a new meaning for me when I became a supply chain manager.

Consumers want the freshest food possible, necessitating that manufacturers maintain the freshest inventory possible. This is especially true for fruits and vegetables used in processed or semi-processed foods. If these fruits and vegetables are grown in specific geographies, it can be very difficult to maintain a fresh inventory year round. Under these circumstances, purchasing the correct amount of these items is a challenge, and not having enough material to cover the requirements before the next harvest is an obvious problem. Conversely, purchasing too much material can be a problem if the shelf-life of perishable items expires before they can be utilized.

One of the biggest challenges of my career was managing the inventory of perishable materials. My colleagues and I developed a system for calculating the quantity of material to be purchased based on when new material needed to be contracted/purchased and the forecasted rate of the material’s consumption in the production of finished goods.

We determined that it worked best for the people in charge of procurement to frequently talk directly with operations people who have knowledge of the business and production planning. This not only guaranteed the freshest possible product for our customers, it reduced financial losses due to expired materials. It also minimized the need to make emergency purchases at a higher cost on the spot market to make up for shortfalls in the inventory. To facilitate these discussions, we developed a sophisticated spreadsheet tool to capture pertinent information.

Based on our experience, here are the recommended steps for developing an inventory management tool and using it to plan the best purchasing strategy for your business.

  1. Establish the parameters for product availability

List all of the items to be purchased and then answer a few simple questions about everything on the list: What is the shelf life of the material? Where is the item grown? Is it available from sources outside of your country? Is it available in the opposite hemisphere, i.e., if you are located in the northern hemisphere, can the item be grown in the southern hemisphere and shipped economically to your location? Once this information is developed, the purchasing plan can be established.

  1. Develop a consumption model

To predict the consumption of the material, a model will be required to show the projected inventory level of each item. This will require the production forecast by month, and the amount of material used in each finished good item to calculate the usage. Monthly consumption is the most convenient way to view the information. When developing the model, a ‘loss factor’ should be added to the formula to account for material wasted or damaged during storage and/or manufacturing. If the material is used in multiple finished good items, cumulative usage should be tracked and reported as a single number.

  1. Develop the inventory model

 Utilize the product availability parameters (step 1) and consumption model (step 2) to set up a tool that will show the inventory levels at the beginning or end of each month. The third variable in the inventory model should show the contracted quantities and when the material is available for usage.

Combining the inventory, consumption, and purchase quantity will generate a ‘strategic’ view of the available inventory over time. Understanding the strategic view of the inventory will indicate when to purchase the material again in the future.

Once the inventory model is working and actual inventories are updated each month, the inventory levels can be predicted for each time period. Management can then determine if there is a risk of running out of materials or conversely, predict if there will be excess material left over that will expire before it can be used. Examples of an annual purchase and semi-annual purchase inventory model are shown below:

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  1. Review Inventory and Adjust Purchasing Strategy

The most important step of this process is for the appropriate parties to review the inventory positions on a monthly basis, even if the purchase date is several months away. For example, if sales are not going as planned, then a strategy can be developed to manage the potential issues of running out of material prematurely or having excess material that will expire and cannot be used. Ideally the Operations group will know how sales are trending and this intelligence can be brought to the attention of the Procurement group.

  1. Establish Timetables for Making a Purchase Decision

The process works well when a timetable is developed for each item. In general, the process is to jointly review the inventory plan and forecast 3 months prior to when the material is available for purchase. The forecast should be verified with the Production Planning/Scheduling department two months prior to contracting the item. This gives Procurement enough time to develop the quantity requirements and negotiation strategy to be executed in the month prior to the delivery on the contract.

Some companies may have ERP/MRP systems that will generate similar information for a material, however, it is important to have a tool to facilitate the discussions between Procurement and Operations. These discussions need to take place with some frequency to ensure necessary adaptations to business plans.

It may take a few months to develop and launch this entire process, but once it is running and the monthly review of inventory is taking place between Procurement and Operations, the benefits are substantial. Having a sensitive and efficient process for updating the consumption model and the inventory model is key to success. Accurate and timely information will lead to better decisions and improved business results.

It is safe to say that the Byrds were not thinking about inventory position and consumption models when they recorded one of their most famous songs, but it’s easy to hear the wisdom in their chorus:

‘There is a season – turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under heaven’

 

 

 

 

Is Your Forest Too Dense? Part 4

Mike 0 Comment Communication, Expert Advice , , , , ,

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Effective Communication

If you haven’t had a chance to read the first three entries of this series, click here for Part 1, here for Part 2, and here for Part 3.

Your ability to communicate is an important tool in your pursuit of your goals, whether it is with your family, your co-workers or your clients and customers. – Les Brown

One thing that will help an organization as they navigate through a dense forest, aka the busy organization, is communication. Leadership must communicate effectively with everyone in the group to keep the team on the right path.

Leadership has many responsibilities that normally include generating reports and performing analysis showing their team’s progress toward meeting organizational goals. Unfortunately, these responsibilities leave little time to communicate with co-workers.

Here are 3 suggestions for enhancing communication that will improve the overall effectiveness and focus of the team.

  1. Conduct meaningful and effective meetings

If a meeting must be held, then the meetings should be considered by all in attendance to be productive and worthwhile before and after the meeting. As the meeting leader, conducting efficient and meaningful meetings boils down to a few principles:

  • Always have a clearly defined, well communicated reason for each meeting.
  • Set up an agenda that spells out who is responsible for providing information at the meeting.
  • Send out the meeting invitation as far in advance as possible so everyone can plan for it.
  • Be respectful of participants’ time by staying within the time set for the meeting.
  • At the end of the meeting, summarize the action steps and write down who is responsible for the action as well as when it is expected to be completed. Use this as the guide to check the progress of each action.

2. Set up a weekly check-in with each employee

Scheduling time every week for a quick discussion between the manager and each team member will be beneficial to both parties. There should be a simple agenda that includes the status of each project or work-stream and any potential issues. It is also a time to discuss any changes from the management perspective that will possibly impact the team member’s activities.

Once these weekly meetings are established, they become very efficient, and they can reduce the number of surprises on both sides of the relationship.

  3. Publish organizational performance results periodically

Placing a team member (preferably not Management) in charge of communicating the team’s results versus targets and metrics on a periodic basis. Knowing how well the team is performing against established goals and targets will provide motivation. Assigning a non-management team member to track and post the results in a graphical form, e.g., charts or graphs, sends a signal to the team that there is no ‘spin’ to the information being presented.

In today’s world, there are many distractions as well as a multitude of internal activities everyone on the team is expected to manage day in and day out. Hopefully the tips and recommendations in this blog series will help thin out your forest and make it a little easier to see where you and your team are going.

Photo credit: Depositphotos #33835739 by Londondeposit

Is Your Forest Too Dense? Part 3

Mike 1 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills, Metrics , , , , , ,

Meteorological red white windsock in Himalaya airport,Nepal

Meaningful Metrics

Part Three

If you haven’t had a chance to read the first two parts of this series, please click here for Part One and here for Part Two.

As we continue on our path through the metaphorical forest of a busy supply chain organization, let’s look at how meaningful metrics can be an effective way to improve your company’s visibility. Most of us prefer to avoid unpleasant information. However, well-thought-out metrics will provide useful insights that can help teams improve performance, whether the news is good or bad.

To generate an accurate view of performance, there are a few basic metrics that every supply chain organization will need. The first group of metrics should be associated with Customer Service. The second set will show Inventory position and a third set will focus on Production reporting. A final consideration is for Management to openly share the metric results with the entire organization.

Customer Service –

Most manufacturing organizations make products and sell them to customers, who in turn sell them to their customers. A useful customer service metric is a measurement called ‘case fill’. This is the simple percentage of how much product was delivered divided by the quantity ordered. It is also important to know if the order was fulfilled by the promised delivery date.

Although this may seem like an obvious choice for a metric, attention must be paid to the details. This metric requires clear guidelines on what is considered successful order fulfillment to allow for useful insights into issues as they arise.

Inventory –

Having a visual representation of predicted inventory levels is extremely helpful. It should be based on production plans and forecasted shipments (to customers) for the length of the forecasting cycle. A ‘snapshot’ of the inventory level of multiple items can be achieved by using a spreadsheet with conditional formatting as shown below:

Mock DOH Chart 121514

Production –

Being able to obtain accurate information regarding production output is a key metric. There are a few aspects of this measurement that may not be apparent: It is important to know how much was produced and the quantity scheduled to be produced. Dividing the quality made by the quantity scheduled is called schedule accuracy and most companies would consider 90% to 110% of the plan to be acceptable.

Schedule accuracy is a metric that can provide valuable insights. For example, if the quantity produced is substantially lower than planned, understanding the root cause of this will help find gaps in other systems, such as inadequate maintenance. On the other hand, if more product was made than scheduled, then resources (with time being the most valuable resource) are being spent on items not needed at that time.

It is best to focus on a small number of meaningful and accurate metrics. Having too many disparate metrics will dilute the team’s focus. Team members may spend time generating reports instead of performing root cause analysis to determine why targets are not being achieved.

One last consideration is to publically post the key metric information in a common area and on-line where all employees can see how well the organization is performing. Even if the news is not always good, it’s best to communicate the information and create a sense of transparency. Discussing what the metrics indicate can open up a healthy dialogue amongst the workforce that can lead to improved problem-solving activities.

Meaningful metrics will display both positive and negative results regarding the performance of an organization. Facing facts and addressing issues identified as a result of using a robust set of metrics will make it simpler to guide teams through the thick forest of intense pressure experienced in today’s supply chain organizations.

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com #27194263 by kaetana

Is Your Forest Too Dense? Part 2

Mike 2 Comments Expert Advice, Management Skills , , ,

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Goal Management for Success 

A practice that can help to thin out the forest is to have an effective process for reviewing and adjusting the organization’s goals and targets. Obviously it’s important for every organization to have goals and targets. It’s also important for Leadership to recognize changes in the business environment and allow teams to focus on what is important as conditions change.

Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor. – Brian Tracy

Here is a simple three-step process for managing goals and targets.

  1. Make General Organizational Goals Available to All Employees

         Leadership must establish a set of organizational goals that will be the basis for the individual goals for each employee. This set of goals for the organization should be available to all employees for their review. It is helpful for employees to see what is driving the activities of the company. Transparency around an organization’s goals will help generate trust in leadership. Building trust within the organization will create many long-lasting benefits.

         It is also helpful for Leadership to publish periodic updates on how the organization is performing with respect to the goals. Organizations sometimes use a stop-light system (Green / Yellow / Red) to indicate if the goals are on track to being achieved.

  1. Set Tangible and Measureable Goals for Individuals

         Managers will need to establish tangible goals and targets with realistic timelines to make it easier for their team members to understand their role in achieving organizational goals. Stating goals in a few sentences that can be easily understood will help team members to keep them in mind. For example, making a statement such as ‘increasing net sales 20% in 2016’ is better than saying the goal is ‘to ‘double sales over the next 5 years’’. In this example, if employee performance is evaluated on a periodic basis, the goal must be broken down into quantifiable pieces for each period and the sales target clearly stated when results are to be measured.

         In general, the goals and targets must be stated in terms that everyone can measure and at some point in time determine whether they were clearly met or not. In contrast, goals and targets that require the manager to use subjective measures to determine if the goal was satisfied will most likely create angst and will not be as effective. Subjective goals can make team members feel like they are trying to hit a moving target.

  1. Review and Adjust Goals as Needed

         Even though goals and targets are generally established on an annual basis for the upcoming year, a periodic review of the goals should take place. Business conditions can change quickly and the current goals may not accurately reflect a mid-term change in the direction by leadership. For example, a new client/customer places a large order that must deliver quickly to help them gain a competitive advantage. Meeting their delivery date may be achievable, but due to production capacity constraints it will delay shipments to other clients. Accepting the large order may result in higher overall sales and opportunities for the additional business in the future, however it may lower overall customer service results in the short-term.

         In the example above, Management decisions may be problematic for employees who are evaluated on annual customer service metrics. Sales growth may be a goal for upper management, however the rank and file should not be penalized if they don’t reach their customer service goals because of Management’s decision. To keep everyone motivated, the goals may need to be adjusted to account for Management’s decision to accept lower overall customer service levels, even if it is a temporary situation.

From a general management perspective, it is very helpful to have periodic reviews of performance against the goals. A meeting between the employee and manager should take place at least every 6 months to keep everyone up-to-date on their performance compared to current goals and targets. As shown in the example above, a formal mid-year review can be a good time to make any course corrections due to changing business conditions.

Utilizing a formal process to set and publish organizational goals will keep the organization aligned for success. Employing a process to make periodic adjustments to goals and targets will enable the organization to adjust to rapidly changing business conditions and ‘control the direction of change in their favor’.

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Is Nero Fiddling?

mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills , , , ,

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At a company conference several years ago, Leadership asked for anonymous comments from team members about concerns they had for the business. I wrote, “Sometimes it feels as though management is like Nero fiddling while Rome is burning”. This may have been harsh. My point was that there were issues in the organization that I felt were not being addressed that could cause major problems for the company.

Working in the quality side of the business I developed a keen sense of how the right (or wrong) combination of situations could severely damage a company’s image. Although we had not experienced a product recall situation, I felt Leadership was not taking the ‘close calls’ we had the previous year seriously enough. We all have a responsibility to keep the consumer safe while protecting our company and brand image. The best way to do this is to prevent problems from happening.

Today the news of a product recall is instantaneously broadcast to the world via the Internet. Within a few hours, social media will pile on and before you know it, the problem is broadcast nationally and beyond on multiple media outlets. Think of Toyota and the uncontrolled acceleration in some of their cars: the combination of a few minor design flaws impacted the safety of the product. Whether the situation was under control or not, Toyota’s reputation was damaged almost immediately after the announcement of the product recall.

Having knowledge of a situation that could potentially create a product safety issue and damage the reputation of the brand and the company is a call to action. It can take courage to make a case to Leadership in order to prevent a severe problem from developing. It is also essential to demonstrate credibility, produce supportive data, and offer a solution when possible.

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you are right” – Henry Ford

Have Credibility

When it comes time for the rubber to meet the road, the discussion will come down to credibility. It takes time to build up enough trust to have difficult conversations with your superiors. To make a difference within an organization, one has to be trustworthy and have a track record of solid performance. Do what you say you are going to do and do it well.

Use Solid Data

When developing a case for discussion, have solid data behind your claims. It is not enough to say, “I think there is a problem.” Any reasonable manager will ask for evidence. What I found over the years is that sometimes when going through the due diligence of building a case, we find that the issue isn’t as dire as we originally thought. On the other hand, sometimes it’s worse. Do your homework to clearly and fairly prove your point.

Develop a Feasible Solution

“Complaining about a problem without proposing a solution is called whining.” – Teddy Roosevelt.

Finally, put together a feasible solution or action plan that will mitigate the situation. It will make the case more credible if Leadership is presented a specific set of activities that clearly identify the current risks along with corrective actions. Nobody likes to have problems dumped on their doorstep, so when the person making the case suggests a solution, the chances of being heard will greatly improve.

Whether it is a critical product safety issue, or a significant business situation that needs to be brought to Leadership’s attention, summon the courage to make the case for improvement. If you believe the bosses are ‘fiddling’ or just focused on the myriad issues of the day, take the initiative to make a difference.

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com 29889739 by: ronjoe

Work and Jazz – First Verse

mcalisterts 1 Comment Collaboration, Expert Advice, Management Skills , , , ,

jazz guitar player

Although I started playing guitar when I was 13, I took my first formal guitar lessons as an adult. Along with learning about Jazz and improving my guitar playing skills, I have noticed several parallels between Jazz guitar, learning styles and successful teamwork.

Learning Style – Understanding How to Learn and Teach

The most commonly discussed modes for learning, are Visual, Auditory, and Tactile. It turns out I’m mostly a visual learner. I have discovered that even after hearing a guitar lick many times, the only way I can reproduce it is by watching my fingers make the correct movements on the strings. Although playing guitar requires auditory skill, I primarily learn how by seeing my fingers move on the fret board of my guitar.

This got me thinking about the training I’ve received over the years; the most effective method for me was hands-on. Listening to an instructor explain how to use the system did not work for me, but using software with dummy data, I could see the system perform the task, and effectively learn it myself.

Knowing how we learn, and looking for training programs tailored to that learning mode can enhance our job performance. It is also important to keep learning modes in mind when putting together training programs for others. If we expect to successfully teach our audience a task, the procedures must be presented in all modes: auditory, visual, and tactile.

Jazz – Simultaneously Simple and Complex

Most of the basic rules for music are not particularly difficult to understand. Jazz uses a subset of the rules that make jazz what it is, but once these rules are understood, the chords and melody for most jazz standards are relatively simple songs that a novice can play. However, advanced Jazz players understand the subtlety of the structure and are able to enhance the music with their own personality and style. They understand how to improvise around the melody and use chord substitution to create a much richer version of the song.

Work organizations, like Jazz bands, follow relatively simple rules of operation and protocol that are easy to learn. However, it is within the basic work structure that high performers understand the complexity of the organization and how to enhance operations with their own personalities and style. In the example below, I followed the basic rules of the organization and worked with all of the appropriate people to get answers to my questions. My experience and understanding of the operations was useful because I knew the right questions to ask of my co-workers.

  • At one point in my career I was in charge of investigating consumer complaints. Based on my experience, I knew that there could be many facets of the situation that possibly contributed to the complaint. I worked closely with various co-workers to obtain additional information such as production data, maintenance logs, and the results of raw material inspections. By performing this level of ‘due diligence’, every consumer complaint was viewed as an opportunity to ensure all procedures are being followed and to ultimately enhance the overall strength of brand.

Look for my next blog as I continue my thoughts on work and Jazz.

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com 46950533 by estudiosaavedra

Build Bridges of Understanding – Part 2

mcalisterts 0 Comment Case Studies, Collaboration, Expert Advice, Food Safety, Management Skills, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

Find the Answer - Magnifying Glass

 

 

 

 

Building Bridges Part 1 addressed how to gather useful information by having honest conversations with the people involved in the issue. Gathering as much information as possible was the key to determining exactly what happened. However, fact gathering is only a part of the process; it is equally important to implement improvements based on the information.

The highest levels of performance come to people who are centered, intuitive, creative, and reflective – people who know to see a problem as an opportunity. – Deepak Chopra

Here was the journey we took to solve the problem described in Part 1.

Once we gathered the preliminary information, we decided that the issue was most likely related to the raw material handling process. As we dug into the details of how the raw materials were handled we started asking questions such as, “how could one raw material be introduced into another raw material?”

We then discussed scenarios in which the offending material might have been introduced into a ‘common’ raw material, and developed one such scenario:

Contamination may occur when an offending allergen (seafood) attached itself to a common ingredient (pasta) because it was unsuccessfully separated out during the ‘re-work’ process (used to reclaim raw materials from damaged packages). When the ‘contaminated’ pasta was used again, it was used as raw material for a product that didn’t contain seafood. Thus, the process for re-using raw materials from damaged packages would have created the situation where unwanted ingredients were inadvertently mixed into the raw material.

As we talked through this scenario, we realized that a process intended to avoid wasting materials, actually put the product at risk. Armed with this information, we were able to determine the most likely root cause for the issue.

We were now presented with the ‘opportunity’ to eliminate the potential for contamination. This would involve changes in the material handling procedures and a commitment to a training program for the workers who manage the tracking paperwork. The owner of the business was amenable to the changes; peace of mind about the safety of his products was well worth any additional expense. The changes were effective. Millions of packages were consumed over the next 15 years without incident.

To summarize, here’s the entire process:

  1. Open up an honest and in-depth discussion about the situation and ensure everyone involved is on the same page. Establish the goal of the discussion and keep it in mind the entire time.
  2. As the discussion leads to various possible scenarios that could explain what occurred, critically and thoroughly review the scenarios – the smallest detail can lead to the smoking gun.
  3. Once the root cause is determined and verified, develop ‘fool-proof’ procedures to ensure the issue cannot re-occur. These new procedures must be audited to ensure they truly eliminate the potential issue.
  4. Discuss the rationale for making procedural changes with the production workers and supervision. Let them know why it is so important to follow the new procedures and how they can help keep the product safe.

I have always believed that “all of us are smarter than one of us”. In the end, because my team had the trust of the owner and his team, we were able to resolve the issue together.

To boil it down: focus on getting accurate, detailed information at the beginning of the process. Once the information is gathered, let your intuition guide you toward the next steps, such as brainstorming about scenarios. Once logical opportunities are presented, go out and test them. You will find out quickly if the situation can be recreated. Lastly, work out new procedures or policies that will effectively eliminate the problem.

Successful problem-solving starts with building bridges of understanding. Mr. Carnegie put it into words over 75 years ago and his words ring true today.

 

Photo credit: depositphotos.com 21849021 by:iqoncept

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Build Bridges of Understanding – Part 1

mcalisterts 0 Comment Case Studies, Collaboration, Expert Advice, Food Safety, Management Skills , , , , ,

Person on bridge helping another

 

 

 

 

Investigating major quality problems can be a difficult task. I think I speak for most workers; people don’t like to ‘get in trouble’, especially on the job. Whether negligence is involved or not, gathering useful information can be a challenge. However, in order to correct the situation and prevent it from happening again, it is extremely important to determine exactly what happened.

In my experience, the success of an investigation usually depends upon the investigator’s ability to put workers at ease. This helps the process to move quickly and thoroughly, resulting in accurate identification of the problems and rapid resolution.

Dale Carnegie recommends listening first, particularly in a tense situation.

“Let them finish. Do not resist, defend or debate. This only raises barriers. Try to build bridges of understanding. Dale Carnegie – Goodreads.com link

When trying to solve a serious problem, getting the full story with as much detail as possible is very important. Channeling Mr. Carnegie’s term, always attempt to “…build bridges of understanding”.

The three steps below are useful in the initial stages of the investigation

  1. Preface the discussions with the people involved
    • Let the interviewee know that all information is helpful toward resolving the issue completely.
    • Help them understand they are part of the solution, not part of the problem.
    • Make the discussion as non-emotional as possible. Let the person being interviewed know that the discussion is strictly intended for gathering facts and not meant to find someone to blame for the issue.
    • Mention that it is very seldom a single act or situation that caused the problem and their input is needed to be able to assemble the ‘pieces of the puzzle’ to resolve the issue once and for all.
  2. Establish the timeline based on facts
    • When did the situation occur?
    • What equipment or process was involved?
    • Explore any unusual circumstances taking place at the time of the incident.
    • Who else would have been in the area when the problem occurred that could add more information?
    • If the interview process uncovers multiple sources of the problem, collate all of the information into a single timeline listing all of the discrete times, places, and people involved in the issue.
  3. Once the basic causes are worked out set up a meeting with the appropriate personnel to perform a root cause analysis (to be discussed in Part 2).

Over 15 years ago I had a situation where I used the steps above to gather critical information necessary to resolve a complicated quality issue. A third party manufactured a finished product for our company and unfortunately the product was contaminated with an undeclared allergen. This was an extremely dangerous situation for someone who was highly allergic to the material, and a nationwide recall was performed. Thankfully nobody was ever injured as a result of this issue.

Immediately after the discovery of the problem (and a separate team had quickly initiated the recall), I was sent to the manufacturer to determine what happened and implement new procedures to prevent it from happening again. From the very beginning it was clear that this investigation was going to be challenging. From a practical perspective it was going to be costly; the situation would most likely result in a major insurance settlement (best case) or a significant legal proceeding (worst case).

The first thing I did was schedule a meeting with the owner at the company. The purpose of the meeting was to lay out the intent of my visit and the expected outcomes. In this case, it seemed straight-forward: determine exactly what happened and establish new procedures that would prevent it from happening again. I made it clear that my focus was on determining the root cause without assigning blame. I also made it clear that the information gathered during the investigation would be shared with the owner prior to communicating it to my management. I wanted the owner to agree that the information being communicated was factual and unbiased before it was distributed to anyone else.

I believe by establishing these ‘ground rules’ up front, it helped the owner to feel more comfortable disclosing all of the facts. He also encouraged his employees to fully cooperate in the investigation by saying that all information would be important in resolving the issue.

The interview process took place and a comprehensive timeline was developed. With this information we were able to initiate a successful root cause analysis and determine exactly how the product was contaminated. I will describe the root cause analysis process and ultimate resolution to the problem in Part 2.

Establishing open communication, ground rules, and transparency at the start, was key to expediting a successful investigation. This enabled us to ‘build bridges of understanding’.

Look to Part 2 for the results of the interviews, the root cause process and how we worked together to correct the situation permanently.

 

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com Image 11826066 by 6kor3dos

Dreamer or Doer: Who Do You Need in Your Organization

mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills , , , ,

Dream Big Work Hard Concept

The world needs Dreamers and the world needs Doers. But above all, the world needs Dreamers who Do. Sarah Ban Breathnach.

Over the years, as I watched people flourish or flounder at work, I witnessed the degree to which success is dependent upon a good fit between workers and their role in the organization. I found there are two characteristics essential to success in any organization: dreaming and doing. We are all Dreamers and Doers to some extent, however most of us tend to lean a little more one way than the other.

When hiring new employees or considering a change for current employees, it’s a good idea to gauge the degree of Dreamer/Doer requirements of the position. A successful fit is almost always related to how a person’s Dreamer/Doer ratio aligns with their role. Dreamer roles tend to require more creativity, and Doer roles, more routine.

The charts below illustrate the Dreamer/Doer ratios for positions in a supply chain company:

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  • A Material Planner is responsible for ordering materials needed for production. Usually the information comes from a system (e.g., MRP) and then the raw materials are ordered through the procurement system. Accuracy and consistency are essential to successfully executing the process every day to keep the production lines running. (Strong Doer)
  • A Planning Manager needs to be a creative problem solver in order to resolve issues that arise everyday. They must also be strong communicators and be able to work effectively and efficiently. (Strong Dreamer)
  • A Director of Logistics must develop innovative ways to improve the overall efficiency of the supply chain. People who have risen to this level have done so because of their strengths in both practical and creative arenas. (Strong Doer/Dreamer)

Here are a few characteristics of Dreamers and Doers that may be helpful when determining the ratio of potential candidates:

Characteristics of an effective Dreamer

  • Candidates with experience in finding creative ways to use technology are dreamers. Various technologies continue to grow at an exponential rate. The companies with employees who find ways to leverage emerging technology will be leaders in their field. For example, new technologies exist in the form of improved hardware and software that allow for better, quicker decision-making. Companies who work out innovative ways to use this technology will have a competitive advantage.
  • Candidates who know how to gather and analyze data are effective Dreamers. For example, the Dreamers who have found innovative ways to optimize networks or systems will be extremely valuable in most organizations. Having the ability to review complex data analyses and provide solid recommendations for enhancements is always an excellent capability.

Characteristics of a strong Doer

  • Candidates with meaningful experiences as leaders, as well as working on successful teams, are strong Doers. Those who have demonstrated strong leadership skills in difficult situations are extremely valuable. When it comes to executing plans, I personally found the candidates who put a plan together, and then rolled up their sleeves to fully support the team, were going to be successful in the organization.
  • Candidates willing to take on difficult challenges and work outside their comfort zone are strong Doers. People who are ‘comfortable being uncomfortable’ are most likely to adapt and take on new challenges, as well as to grow within the organization.

One last consideration is to gauge a candidate’s ability (or willingness) to adjust their Dreamer/Doer ratio as they move up in the organization. Knowing that the roles at the various levels of the organization will require varying amounts of Dreamer/Doer, it’s important when hiring ‘high potential’ future leaders that they show the ability to ‘do’ as well as the ability to ‘dream’.

It takes a little practice and patience to get to know a person’s ‘ratio’ but once it is understood, there will be an improvement in success rate of the candidates.

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com #57460535 LlianaMihaleva

You Either Know or You Don’t

mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills, Uncategorized , , ,

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Creating a problem for customers is never a good thing. But as Forrest Gump said, “It happens.” Over the years I found that the manner in which we deal with adversity is as important as solving the problem itself. If we learn from the situation and improve future performance, then there is no failure.

I was involved in a major crisis several years ago and it forced me to re-evaluate many of my assumptions. We gained tremendous insights as we worked through the situation and when it was finally resolved, we defined three general actions that needed to take place to manage future major customer service crises. I will summarize this a little later. First, I would like to explain how my assumptions caused a problem:

An ingredient problem created a recall situation resulting in 50% of my 1 million case inventory being unavailable to ship to customers. It was clear that the out-of-specification product would not be shipped anytime soon, if ever. Also, the production network was running at 90% capacity at the time of the recall, therefore we knew recovery was going to take a while and most of our customers would run out of product within the next few weeks. It was going to get very uncomfortable very quickly.

Since I was the supply chain manager for the affected product line, I was responsible for the operational aspect of the recovery plan, and point person for all communications to Management regarding the timeline for the inventory recovery.

For the purposes of this entry, I won’t discuss the technical aspect of recall, only the business and operational aspects. Rest assured that the recalled product did not injure consumers.

With half of the inventory unavailable, we knew that providing replacement product to our customers was going to be a big problem. I had to determine how we were going to quickly replace the ‘bad’ inventory. It should have been a mathematical exercise. Unfortunately, the next few weeks of the journey were fraught with surprising discoveries, most of them unpleasant.

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” ― Isaac Asimov

Within the first few days of the crisis, I used a phrase that I now live by: “You either know, or you don’t.” I quickly learned that making assumptions is a risky business.

The most upsetting discoveries were around the planning system and the ability to generate a clear recovery plan. We discovered the planner was not diligent in keeping the plan up-to-date. In a nutshell, we really didn’t know how much product was in the inventory. Then we found a discrepancy in the production run rates, so we didn’t know with certainty how many cases of product we could make in a day. It became clear that we had been flying blind before the crisis occurred. My first bad assumption was since our customer service targets were being achieved, the systems were working and all of the parameters were correct.

Suffice it to say we corrected the planning issues very quickly. That was the good news. The bad news was we determined it was going to take 2-3 months get the inventory back to normal due to the size of the problem. For our customers being out of stock for a day is a problem. This was a bitter pill to swallow.

A second misguided assumption was that a protocol existed for clear internal communication. None of my colleagues could provide a good template for this, so we wasted no time and created and a straight-forward way to accurately ‘depict’ the inventory position while estimating the recovery date of each item. My team devised a color-coded chart that showed when inventory would be available to customers in future weeks based on the current production plan. The charts greatly assisted Management’s understanding of the situation and greatly assisted company decision making.

The last unfortunate assumption was the existence of a standard protocol for communicating information to our customers. A problem of this scale hadn’t occurred in the past and a protocol didn’t exist. In a matter of days, Sales and the supply chain developed a method for communicating the inventory status to the customers so they understood when they would get the stock they needed for their stores. As the communication with customers took place, it was not always an easy discussion between the sales force and the customer. In the end, the customers stated that it was better to get accurate information, even if it was bad news.

After reassessing all of the assumptions, here are three practices to consider:

  1. Work diligently to understand all of the circumstances behind the issues. If there are operational assumptions, question them and correct all errors. For example, scrutinizing the planning systems allowed us to determine that the production rates were not accurate. Correcting this issue made it possible to develop an accurate recovery timeline. Success came when we clearly understood the capabilities and capacity of the system.
  2. Develop a visual system to show critical information to the decision-makers. Visuals can be easier to understand than words. It’s important to quickly and crisply explain the situation to Management. In my example, developing a color-coded system for showing the recovery plan timeline for each item was critical for gaining the support and trust of the business team. Once this trust was established, communication was clear and decisions were much easier to make.
  3. Execute a simple protocol for keeping customers informed. With accurate inventory information being readily available, the timing and method of delivering the information to the customers will be simple. As discussed above, using the color-coded charts allowed the sales team to explain when the customer should expect the product to be back on their shelves.

Although the situation discussed in this entry was painful for the business, the changes made to the business processes substantially improved our ability to address issues and improve customer service going forward. It’s worth noting that many of the practices developed during this particular situation became company-wide practices. We were able to turn a negative situation into a positive result.

At the end of the day it’s important for the decision-makers and operations managers to have a crystal clear view of their operations. I would highly suggest that when looking at your own operation, you question assumptions associated with systems and communication protocols. Either you know or you don’t.

 

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