Tag Archives: opportunities

A new supply chain paradigm

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Every generation has had its own global catastrophe, whether caused by ourselves or nature. And as every catastrophe challenges societies and cultures at the time, they also challenge the status quo. Yes, things do and will change.

COVID-19 has laid bare weak links in supply chain around the world. And now all involved in the supply chain are beginning (if they haven’t already) to review, reassess and consider other options.

But, did we really get it all that wrong based on the data and information we had at the time (prior to covid-19)? Definitely, many a BCP written within the last 10 years highlighted a number of weaknesses including those we see now, what we did not count on was the fallout of these – the subsequent events that have made the risks to the supply chain multiply as time goes on. China states it is getting its processes back on line, but the bull-whip effect from the panic buying, hoarding and (likely) government actions to limit continued or even secondary covid-19 events, will take its toll for a while to come.

Markets will change as the psyche of the customer changes, and the supply chain will morph into something completely different to today’s. We will probably see a rapid return to “make/buy local’ and although it will not be a complete shift, it will definitely be the critical components (for manufacturers). This change will become a feedback loop, those in the BRICS group will change their inter-relationships as China’s market/manufacturing changes.

As with any major disruptor – not a new invention or new software – but real disruptor a global one, there will be a repositioning of power, as governments rewrite legislation to control the flow of goods (they are already looking at this), countries lose their attraction as costs to obtain goods increase, manufacturing moves back on-shore as companies lessen their reliance on cheap but long supply chains.

Other considerations for the supply chain will be the environmental risks that are now regularly appearing, such as rampant fires, devastating floods and earthquakes – irrespective of where/why/who, the environment will be a consideration. As will the geopolitical world we have woven for ourselves. Future forecasting and supply chain planning will not be limited to cost mitigation, improved utilisation of resources, reduction in inventories and velocity to market. There will be a multitude of risks that will need to be:

  1. Identified
  2. Classified
  3. Quantified and then
  4. Mitigated as best as possible

As I see it, there will be an increase in local suppliers (although not for everything), there will be an increase in the need for information all along the supply chain prompting an increase in IOT and probably, block-chain, along with advanced forecasting software, including AI and predictive modelling. There will also be a need for more collaboration between partners to enhance efficiency plus much more.

Globalisation, will still be around but not in the way we have become accustomed to. And, although we will return to BAU, it will be a new and for a while a very challenging BAU. This is about Change with a capital “C”, it will be an exciting time, for tomorrow will be driven by those who can think laterally, out-side-the-box, have a variety of experiences, a range of skills and not be attached to the “old ways” – at least for the near future.

How did I engage my team, build their confidence and equip them for the tasks ahead?

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Just as many managers have done for a long time I am guessing, I was busy doing ‘things’ to promote these goals such as training and encouragement, etc. all of which was beneficial and did reap benefits, yet I could tell there was more potential there that was not being actualised.

The first improvement – and is fairly common – was to have each one of my #Team ‘run’ the morning Toolbox meeting and although this did help in a number of ways, it had become routine, a process they each did and got comfortable with. Yes, they each had their own idiosyncratic way of running the Toolbox meeting yet they still, basically asked the same questions and responded in the same way.

I needed something more to keep their attention and give them focus, something with more individual input, that was slightly different each time, something to stretch them without shutting them down. So, one morning whilst conducting one of our regular training sessions, I realised I could multiply the outcomes by me not doing the training. Sounds counter-productive but there is a logic…

The concept I put in place was for me to provide the training materials, then to have the designated team member for that day present the training (under my supervision) to the whole team. This turned out to be a fantastic opportunity and had more benefits than initially anticipated. How it worked….

Every morning we have a Toolbox meeting and immediately after, a short (up to 15 min) training presentation. Every team member, on a rotational basis, is scheduled to run the morning Toolbox meeting, after they are done, the person running the previous day’s meeting then conducts their training session – I had given them the training material after they had finished their Toolbox, so they had 24 hours to prepare (except when they got a whole weekend to be ready Monday).

It was not long after supervising a couple of these I released I could take it a little further. The improvement was in having the team critique each other’s presentations. Although they are still a little hesitant about this, they do add value and often they can provide very good suggestions. So they learn twice.

The benefits, as I mentioned, where so much more than expected. As a team they are more cohesive, they think more about the bigger picture (being trained in all roles across the function), how they fit in and they suggest improvements – within their own, as well as within other roles. As individuals, they are learning to provide and receive criticism in the right way (yep, more resilience). The regular training not only keeps them engaged and up to date, it is also helping them to read and better understand Policies, SOPs and Work Instructions and how they are written, even to the point of suggesting improvements or updates to these documents.

They are also much more confident in their roles, making informed decisions and asking pertinent questions. They are also becoming confident in themselves; they have a voice and people are listening to what they say.

That said, I am not leaving them to struggle through on their own, I supervise the meetings and the training, I answer their questions, point out improvements and encourage them to try – which to my surprise, they have all done without complaint or hesitation (well maybe a little hesitation).

And now I have more time to do what I do, better.