Tag: Expert Advice

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.

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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:

Screen Shot 2015-07-27 at 3.32.42 PM

  • 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

Are You Painting a Clear Picture?

mcalisterts 0 Comment Business Forecast, Case Studies, Expert Advice, Uncategorized , , , ,

Woman standing in the gallery

As my department worked through a crisis several years back, I discovered that the information we needed was not available in a format that would help us resolve the issues. Due to the nature of the crisis, and the need to communicate information inside the company and to our customers, I found a way to assemble a large amount of data into a single, concise communication that made sense to everyone, not just supply chain people.

“Every now and then one paints a picture that seems to have opened a door and serves as a stepping stone to other things.” ― Pablo Picasso

I have a feeling that Picasso wasn’t thinking about customer service when he said this, but I like his sentiment. If painting ‘pictures’ can serve as stepping-stones, then they can help us move on to bigger and better things.

I was the Supply Chain manager when a production issue necessitated a massive recall for half of the existing inventory in my category. The production network was running at 100% capacity when the problem occurred so we all knew it would take time to recover. The million dollar question (literally) was how long would the situation affect our customers? A few weeks? Several months? As you might imagine, our customers were not going to accept an answer of ‘we aren’t sure when you will get your product.’ I asked my planner for a report that would show the weekly inventory position for every item for the next 13 weeks, and I was told the planning system was not able to generate such a comprehensive view.

Since a problem of this size was new for me, I asked my compatriots for examples of how to manage such a major problem. Unfortunately, I was only greeted with kind words of support. It turned out that nobody on the staff had dealt with a problem this large before and no template was available.

It was clear that we needed to develop a method for communicating the status of the inventory, and here are the steps my team and I took to ‘paint a picture’ that would generate useful information for Management and ultimately our customers.

  1. Determine what information is available from the planning system, and how to download it into a spreadsheet.
  • Weekly production plans were available in the supply planning system, however a complete view of the inventory position was not available in a single report. This was a quirk of the system, and getting individual items to aggregate into a single report was something I.T. was not willing to tackle, regardless of the circumstances.
  • We found that the individual item information could be downloaded from the planning system, however, this report included raw data showing the current inventory and planned production quantities along with other pieces of extraneous data. Using an ‘intermediate’ spreadsheet, we extracted and formatted the information needed for the next step.
  1. Once the data is in a spreadsheet, determine how to format the information to accurately tell the story
  • Within our company, most people understood the inventory position in terms of ‘days of coverage’. For the purposes of communication, we needed to put several of the items on a single page, to see the overall effect of the production plan. The most accurate way to calculate the inventory coverage was to develop a formula that used 1) the inventory available at the beginning of the week, 2) the production plan, and 3) the demand forecast, in order to calculate the theoretical days of coverage in the inventory each week going forward.
  • Once the formulae were set up to calculate days of supply for the next 13 weeks, we determined it would be helpful to color-code the information to generate a way to identify issues more easily. This is where the ‘stop-light’ formatting for each cell was used; with green being considered ‘good’ inventory levels, yellow considered ‘risky’ or potentially problematic, and red being ‘bad’ or definite customer service problems. We also used blue to indicate if the inventory was above target.
  1. Develop a view that provides information for driving decision-making.
  • Once the data was verified and the color-coding applied, we assembled a view to show the ‘days of supply’ for all items for the upcoming 13 weeks. It indicated that it would take over two months for the inventory to completely recover. (The chart below is a simulation of the initial inventory positions we discovered. It does not use the actual data.)
  • With the inventory projection view finally in place, we could discuss various production options, such as delaying the production of less popular (slower moving) items, and risking some case fill issues, while producing larger volumes of the more popular items. A few scenarios were presented to management for their review and decisions were made regarding the information to be shared with customers. Now we could show our customers when they could expect the product back on their shelves.

Mock DOH Chart 121514

Prior to developing this methodology, we were making educated guesses about the timing of the recovery. For the most part, these guesses were inaccurate, frustrating management and our customers alike. Having much more accurate and comprehensive days of supply information available was extremely helpful to the Sales team and our customers. Armed with this information customers could find ways to work around the gaps on their shelves.

At the end of the day, a clear picture of bad news was better than not knowing when customer service would recover. With a chart like the one above, we were able to have meaningful and honest discussions with our customers. Sharing accurate information, even if it is not good news, is the key to building trust between organizations.

Picasso was certainly correct about a picture serving as a stepping-stone. We found a way to move forward with our customers once we generated a clear picture of the situation.

 

Photo credit: depositphotos.com image:26852525 by: semisatch

Water Chestnuts Only Come from China? Really?

mcalisterts 0 Comment Case Studies, Expert Advice, Management Skills, Preparedness , , , , ,

Depositphotos_53476899_xs

“There’s no harm in hoping for the best as long as you’re prepared for the worst.” Stephen King, Different Seasons

Although Mr. King is not known for his supply chain expertise, he could have written a thriller based on a situation that took place in our supply chain a number of years ago.

About a month after our company had launched a new product line using water chestnuts, we immediately saw signs of sales exceeding the forecast. After confirming this with Sales, I performed analysis on the raw material inventory to determine if we were at risk. It had already been a long day when my spreadsheet revealed that we would run out of water chestnuts in less than 6 weeks. I gave Procurement a quick call to let them know we would need to move up a shipment or two.

After a few minutes of discussion with Procurement, what I learned was a little shocking: the supplier was in China and they didn’t have any ‘safety stock’ in the US. This meant that there wasn’t any extra material readily available and we were likely to run out of material before the next shipment.

Unfortunately, it got worse. Digging further, we determined that the amount ordered and in-transit was not going to be enough to cover the rapidly rising requirements. We needed to ship incremental material quickly or we would jeopardize the product launch. This situation emphasized one of the unwritten rules of planning: If you are about to run out of a material, demand for the product will invariably increase.

My next question for Procurement was about an alternative supplier that could cover the potential shortage. After an uncomfortable pause on the phone, my contact said, “Water chestnuts are only sourced out of China, and because of our unique specifications, the supplier is the sole source of supply for the material we need for our product.” Really?

Rosemary Coates’ ‘The Risk of Failure.’  addresses rising supply chain risk due to materials being routinely sourced from far-reaching geographies. Speaking from experience, the risk is very real.

If we had to do it over again, we would certainly do things differently. It is the business team’s prerogative to ‘assemble’ the best product they can with the materials at their disposal. It can always be debated whether a unique material is ‘necessary’ to make a desirable product, but this discussion will focus on a proactive approach to managing long lead-time materials.

“Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.” Gen. George S. Patton

There were a few days that felt like we were in the Battle of Bulge along with General Patton. In other circumstances it would be good news that sales of the product line were exceeding the forecast, but in this case, the supply chain was raising flags saying we may experience a shortage of water chestnuts (among other ingredients) making it difficult to produce some of the items. Putting it mildly, this is not what the business team wanted to hear.

Based on the trials and tribulations we experienced as we worked out the situation, here are three broad areas to consider when sourcing unique materials from distant geographies:

  1. Carefully estimate the transit time and the time it takes to move items through Customs. What is the typical shipping time? Does it take 3 weeks or more to get across the ocean? How long does it take to get through Customs. Does your company have experience clearing materials through Customs. How long does it take to transport the material from the entry port to your location? Hiring an experienced import resource to manage the paperwork at the port and subsequent transactions can be very helpful. For this particular item, we allowed 6 weeks from the time the boat left the port in China until the material was in our facility ready for use.
  2. Understand the vendor’s options if their primary source is depleted or the demand outpaces the rate of supply. Does the vendor have an alternative supplier or additional production capacity? If the demand for the material unexpectedly doubles or triples, can the vendor keep up? If not, what are the alternatives? Will a slightly different material work for short periods of time? Knowing the answers to these questions prior to being in a panic situation can be very helpful.
  3. Develop a conservative inventory policy for high-risk materials. A conservative policy in this context means ‘extra’ inventory. Obviously it is necessary to be fiscally responsible, however the risk of suffering customer service issues (no product available) must be weighed against making sure 3-4 months of inventory is always available in a local warehouse. A key to making this plan work is requiring the vendor to have ‘safety stock’ readily available at all times. It is extremely important to ensure this agreement is being upheld and the inventory confirmed on a frequent basis. Having this stock locally available (in country) on short notice can greatly improve the chances for success of a product launch.

Perhaps you are wondering how our ‘thrilling’ situation worked out. We had to air-freight some of the material from China to the US. Suffice it to say this was very costly. From the beginning of the product launch, our customers were extremely excited to have the product on their shelves. The initial success of the product line led the business team to justify the expense.

After this incident, one of the activities that proved to be helpful was setting aside a day to conduct what we called ‘War Games’. The idea behind this activity was to get all of the key players (Sales, Marketing, Procurement, Planning, Quality, etc.) in one room for a day to go through all of the possible issues that could jeopardize the launch of a product. This brainstorming session would take place soon after Management decided to launch a new product and everyone had a chance to discuss possible upcoming challenges to the new business. All aspects are discussed, including competitive market challenges, distribution problems, supply chain concerns (such as the one discussed here) and any other concerns the team may uncover.

Planning conservative raw material inventories can make a significant difference in ensuring product is available during the critical stages of a product launch. Turning Mr. King’s quote around, “Preparing for the worst will let us hope for the best.”

 

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com 53476899 thinglass

You Either Know or You Don’t

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

Depositphotos_53306307_xs

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.

 

Photo credit: depositphotos.com 53306307 Ai825

Collaboration or Else

mcalisterts 0 Comment Collaboration, Expert Advice, Management Skills ,

People team up technology solution gears

In today’s business world, the functional business teams can no longer work in isolation or in ‘silos’. I have always felt the need for collaboration. I’ve enjoyed numerous opportunities to collaborate at a personal level and I have successfully influenced collaboration amongst functional groups. My journey toward understanding that it was collaboration or else began over 30 years ago.

A lot has changed since my wife and I moved into our first apartment in Woodridge, Illinois during the summer of 1981. That was the summer I started my career in the food industry. Back then most manufacturers followed many of the same practices used since the post-WWII years.  ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ was a common theme. Most of us in the Baby Boom generation were more than happy to benefit from the foundation laid by the hard working men and women of Tom Brokaw’s ‘Greatest Generation’.

One of the advantages of being in the business for the past 30 years is having the honor of seeing huge changes in how food manufacturing has adapted to the constantly changing world. Looking back it’s easy to understand why we wanted to maintain the status quo. Unemployment was relatively low and energy was cheap. There wasn’t a huge amount of pressure in 1981 to change the paradigm.

But as escalating energy prices and inflation drove down profitability, the business environment evolved rapidly. Private equity firms completed leveraged buyout transactions that rocked the food industry. Companies were bought and restructured resulting in huge layoffs, signaling the end of the ‘fat and happy’ style of business. As a young man learning his way around the business world, it was clear I would need to adapt in order to survive.

Around this time we found ourselves asking what would it take to survive a leveraged buyout? It quickly became clear that if the new owner asked, ‘who gets the job done around here?’, the names that come up the most would survive.

With the environment changing dramatically, I knew I had to look at my work differently. If I wanted to ‘be in the conversation’ my instinct told me that a collaborative approach to my job would go a long way toward being productive as well as being recognized by co-workers as an excellent team member.

When I moved into management roles, I took this concept to the next level; I knew that collaboration between functional groups in a manufacturing company would be crucial to success in the business world.

Current business practices and collaboration

In Top Food Entrepreneurs Dish on How the Business Has Changed , INC on-line magazine, several key food industry executives discuss how consumer behavior has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. They emphasize that consumers are savvy and information is available very quickly through the use of social media.

Smart companies use the ability to ‘hear’ their consumers through social media to their advantage. However, to be in a position to rapidly respond to consumer demands, food manufacturers must be flexible from a manufacturing perspective.

Even if a company has the physical assets to rapidly react to changes in consumer taste, they must be able to harmonize the business and operations teams. It is imperative that the supply chain be fully synchronized with the business team. In other words, success depends upon a true collaboration between Marketing, Sales, Finance, and the Supply Chain.

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” – Henry Ford (link to reference) 

To facilitate collaboration I have used a ‘Core Team’ approach. Here is the basic process for making this happen:

  • Assemble the ‘Core Team’ – The supply chain manager responsible for the day-to-day planning and operations will work with business counterparts to determine who would be a member of the ‘Core Team’. The business functions must be represented; i.e., Marketing, Sales, and Finance. Production planning, Manufacturing, and Procurement would also be members of the core team.
  • Establish a team charter – It is very important to ensure everyone on the core team understands the purpose of the meetings and how each member will contribute. The goal of the Core Team is to create and maintain a platform for the business team to understand how the Operational function impacts the success of the business and vice versa. For example, the Supply Chain representative will provide explanations to the team regarding customer service issues. Since the Sales manager is at the table, they will be able to talk about demand, e.g. under-forecasting. If manufacturing issues are creating the problem, Operations explains the actions taken to correct the issues.
  • Ensure transparency – The core team will be successful when current data is made available to the entire team. This data must include information and insights into current issues as well as potential issues facing the supply chain in the future. For example, the business team shares sales projections for the next few years on a regular basis. This is critical for ensuring that production capacity is available for future growth. The more transparent the information is between the functional groups, the more efficiently and effectively the core team will operate. An effective core team will result in a successful business.

You may be thinking this core team concept sounds very similar to the S&OP (Sales & Operating Plan) process. The primary difference between the core team and an S&OP process team is the core team agenda is more holistic as opposed to the financial focus of S&OP. In other words, S&OP is more about the ‘what’ and hitting the financial numbers; the core team will determine how the business team will reach their targets. The purpose of the core team meeting is to form a true collaboration between functional groups and ensure everyone understands how the business is going to succeed.

When I think back to those days in the 80’s and the looming threat of being purchased and potentially unemployed, fear was the driving force behind becoming more collaborative. Not being able to respond to the customer and consumer is the modern ‘fear’ driving change in today’s business world. As the paradigm shifts, collaboration at all levels in the organization is the key to being successful in today’s constantly changing environment.

As it turns out, for most of us collaboration or else will keep our companies successful and ourselves in the conversation.

Photo credit: Depositphotos 9959012 michaeldb

How Many Jars Do You Buy at a Time?

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

Glass bottles on the conveyor belt

Excellent food safety is a lifestyle choice. It’s a cultural thing… it’s a way of life. Having a good quality program in your plant or at your company is similar to a production facility having a good employee safety culture. A safety culture helps to ensure that everyone gets to go home to their family at the end of the day. I look at food safety at the plant or corporate QA level in the same way. As everyone does their jobs every day, their attitude and behaviors toward quality, contribute to the ‘culture of quality’ and keeping our consumers safe.

Food quality has many facets, but the most important aspect is food safety. Quality programs protect the people we love and there are very few issues as emotional as those around food safety and security. I recently read about a little girl dying from E. coli O157 food poisoning. Her friend was very sick because he ate the other half of her turkey sandwich. For more information, click here: E. coli kills Oregon girl.

It’s very difficult to say where the source of the contamination occurred, but rest assured each and every ingredient in the sandwich will be scrutinized. As a parent, our hearts go out to the families. As a Quality professional, I want to ensure everyone in my sphere of influence is doing everything possible to keep this from happening to our consumers. We are often encouraged not to let emotions affect our work, however when it comes to food safety, my emotional response clearly motivates me to do my best to prevent contamination whenever possible.

When it comes down to it, food companies are selling trust. Consumers don’t want to think about food as a source of risk. Most of us ‘trust’ our food supply and don’t think about getting sick when we eat something.

“All I ask of food is that it doesn’t harm me.”
Michael Palin (Monty Python’s Flying Circus) link to quote Michael Palin is a comedian, and he makes a serious point. Our food supply should not cause harm. Unfortunately, things happen and quality professionals must be extremely vigilant when it comes to food safety in their production facilities.

Identifying and eliminating potential sources of contamination is a difficult task. Having personally spent countless hours performing inspections and developing food safety programs, I believe it is possible to prevent the vast majority of quality incidents before they turn in to major problems.

Several years ago, I was the Quality Manager at a plant making a ready-to-eat product. One day I had a great discussion about food safety with the line operators. I asked them how many jars of our product do we think our consumers buy at a time. Everyone said they most likely buy one jar at a time. I said to them, “Then as consumers, our ‘experience’ with most food products is one jar at a time.”

I sensed that they were getting my drift when they rolled their eyes. I understood why my audience was a little skeptical because their particular production line could make over 300,000 jars of product every day. I’m sure they were thinking, ‘How could they possibly watch every jar on the line?’ I said to them, “We may produce thousands of jars a day here, but it is our job to make sure that every single jar is right. When it comes down to it, we sell one jar at a time.”

This insight hit home. Instead of being focused on how many jars we could make every day, the operators realized they needed to see the world from the consumer’s perspective; one jar at a time. If there was something happening on the line or in the production process that potentially compromised the quality of the product, it had to be addressed immediately. As we now say: “if you see something, say something.

“Food safety involves everybody in the food chain.” – Mike Johanns, US Senator link to quote

How do we help the workers in the plant understand they are the most important link in the supply chain with regards to food safety?

I knew there was a tendency to let ‘management’ be responsible for quality at that facility. I also knew the best defense was on the front lines of the battle. To change this mindset, we conducted a plant-wide education effort and made it clear that everyone was responsible for quality and food safety. Here are some of the principles we enacted to change the culture and truly improve food safety:

  1. Everyone working on the line was given the authority to stop the line if they saw something that could create a situation where foreign material contaminated the product. This sounds like common sense, but in many plant cultures, stopping the line is frowned upon. We made it clear that anytime foreign material was visible on or near the equipment, the line must be stopped immediately and the material removed as quickly and cleanly as possible. No questions asked. Enabling the operators and line workers to stop the line anytime they saw the potential for contamination was very empowering and sent the right message to everyone in the plant.
  1. Quick inspections or mini-audits were performed on a frequent basis to ensure conditions compromising food safety were rapidly identified and addressed. We found that a daily checklist performed by a line operator was the most effective way to stay on top of the situation. Thorough audits are helpful, but if they are performed once a month, a problem can manifest and create an unsafe condition for several days or weeks before being corrected. A combination of daily inspections and thorough audits enabled us to correct any potential issues quickly.
  1. Enlisting the sanitation teams to help identify possible environmental sources of contamination was a key to controlling the situation. ‘Environmental’ exposure is very difficult to detect and it usually requires a different approach to identify the source of contamination. We asked the sanitation team to think about the environment from a worst-case scenario perspective. For example, what if the source of contamination was the mop buckets and contaminants were being brought into the production environment during the cleaning process? There may be assumptions about the mop buckets being clean because they hold the sanitizer, but is it possible the wheels of the mop bucket are not fully sanitized? Involving the sanitation crew and supervisors in a thorough review of the practices was a key to uncovering these ‘environmental’ risks.

Those of us working in the food industry have the daunting responsibility of preventing our consumers from having a bad experience on all levels, especially with regards to food safety. The line operators are the last ones to ‘touch’ or see the product before it is shipped out. When they are empowered and encouraged to act upon any potential source of contamination, the vast majority of the potential issues are corrected before they become problems. Instilling a ‘culture of quality’ is the best defense against a food safety problem.

 

Photo credit: Depositphotos Weat 44731215

Problem-Solving in the “Short Attention Span Theater”

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

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In my 33 years of corporate experience I’ve learned that above all else, being a good listener is the true secret to success. I’ve always followed the adage that since we have two ears and one mouth, we should listen twice as much (at least) as we talk. Listening to understand is critical to finding solutions.

Time is money, and though eliminating the problem quickly and effectively is always good for business, it may not always seem feasible or efficient to take the time and make the space to listen.

What gets in our way? Information is coming from multiple media sources and there are always additional mitigating circumstances, e.g., e-mail, texts, and phone calls, contributing to the inability to listen and focus. In other words, there is a lot of noise. This constant barrage of ‘noise’ divides our attention, therefore, I refer to the current workplace as the ‘short attention span theater’.

A casualty of this situation is the ability to listen for understanding and I fear it is becoming a lost art. Being a good listener is a matter of common sense. But as a good friend of mine likes to say: “Common sense ain’t so common.”

The manufacturing environment can be visually and audibly distracting and this can interfere with problem solving. If a Supervisor is trying to ask their Manager for help in improving the efficiency of the widget machine, it’s imperative the Manager hears and understands exactly what the Supervisor is saying. Otherwise, the Manager may address the wrong issue and inadvertently waste valuable time and resources while not correcting the problem.

Here are three key factors to keep in mind when listening to understand:

  1. Be Present. A lot of non-verbal communication takes place during a discussion and one of the biggest ‘turn-offs’ is when the story-teller feels like they don’t have the complete attention of their audience. Good listeners show they are 100% engaged in the discussion. In the example above, the Manager could move to a quieter, distraction-free area for the discussion. They could also turn off walkie-talkies and not use their cell phones to ensure there are no interruptions. Focus is key.
  2. Be Empathetic. It’s important to show that you ‘can feel their pain’ when being told about an uncomfortable or difficult situation. Being sincerely empathetic shows that you truly understand what they are going through and how it is affecting them. In our example, the Manager could relate to their experience with the widget machine and the Supervisor, to let them know they have faced similar issues and had the same frustrations. Making a connection improves communication.
  3. Have an open mind. Good listeners show their audience that they are not making any judgments or jumping to conclusions in the middle of the discussion. The story-teller will not be inclined to disclose all of the details if they feel they are going to be cut off before they finish telling their side of the story. Using the example, the Manager could refrain from blurting out how to fix the problem at the beginning of the discussion. The Manager could listen to everything the Supervisor had to say and then together they come to agreement on the best course of action. An open mind creates an open dialogue.

The words of Dale Carnegie can be very helpful when starting a discussion, “And so I had him thinking of me as a good conversationalist when, in reality, I had been merely a good listener and had encouraged him to talk.” From the book, ‘How to Make Friends and Influence People’.

For more pointers on how to be a good listener, check out ‘9 Things Good Listeners Do Differently’ by Lindsay Holmes (posted on Huffingtonpost.com 8/14/2014).

Problem-solvers in the organization will be much more effective if they have good listening skills. Being able to evaluate a situation accurately is a skillset needed by everyone in the business world.

I’ve had the honor of seeing many changes in how things work (or don’t work) over the years and I don’t see the world getting any less complicated in the near future. Technology will increase the flow of information (creating more noise) and this will contribute to shortened attention spans. Knowing how to listen will become an increasingly valuable skill in the short attention span theater.

 

Photo credit: ID 3429895 © Nikolai Sorokin | Dreamstime.com