Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Halloween Sponsorship Special

The rest of 2011 FREE for any new sponsor who signs up for all of 2012 (at published rates) until all slots are full. If you’re interested, and have the authority to contract on behalf on behalf of your organization, send an e-mail to us in the next 48 hours. (By 1:00 pm CT on Wednesday, Nov 2.)

For sponsorship details, click the Sponsorship Information link. (And no, the doctor is not making a PowerPoint available. He refuses to submit to the enemy that is PowerPoint.)

As always, sponsorships are first come, first serve.

 

* You do not have to sign within 48 hours, just express interest. You will be granted extra time to get the paperwork done.

Change, Unchained


Change, nothin’ stays the same
Unchained, and ya hit the ground runnin’
Change, ain’t nothin’ stays the same
Unchained, yeah ya hit the ground runnin’

Unchained, Van Halen, 1981

Change. The age old * on organizations everywhere. Conjuring up images of the bottomless black pit, nothing causes more job stress for the average employee. And as noted in this recent SIG article in “The Art of the Change”, “Change” is now ever present. So how should you go about implementing change to minimize the stress and fear and maximize success?

The author starts by quoting Stanislao and Stanislao who defined four criteria to consider before implementing a change:

  1. What Should Be Changed?
  2. What Type of Change Needs to Be Made?
  3. Who Will Be Affected By The Change?
  4. Who Will Be The Change Agents?

These are good criteria, but what about
0. Why Do We Need A Change?
5. What Is The Goal Of The Change?
6. What Are The Expected Results?

Let’s face it, if something ain’t broke, you shouldn’t fix it. If there is no why, there is no what. If there is no end goal, then how do you know if the change is appropriate? And if you can’t define the expected results, it’s probably not the right change.

The author then notes that workers who have no real input into a change repel it for several reasons, including surprise, unknown workload, unknown job security (if a task is being automated), etc. As a result, the author recommends that you should:

  • Give Employees Advance Notice.
  • Give Employees Information About the Change.
  • Give Employees Training to Cope With the Change.

And these are musts. But the author misses the most important thing you should do if you want a change to be successful. That is:

  • Explain The Rewards (To The Employee) Associated With the Change.

Let’s face it, the first thing an employee wants to know is what’s in it for them if you expect them to work hard to prepare for and implement a change — especially when they believe the same ol’, same ol’ is good enough. Will it make their jobs easier? Will it improve profitability and their potential bonus? Will it, in hard times, simply ensure that the corporation will be operating lean enough to allow them to keep their jobs? Enquiring minds want to know!

In addition, as the author notes, you should be aware of the very fundamental reasons that humans resist change, which, according to Gilley, Godek, and Gilley include:

  1. Fear of losing one’s position in the hierarchy.
  2. Not being aware of the company’s vision and/or purpose.
  3. Fear of losing one’s job entirely.
  4. Growing apprehensions about taking on additional roles and responsibilities.
  5. Working longer hours so that personal life becomes severely affected.

And make sure that the information and training communicated to the employees addresses each of these concerns. If you do that, engage your employees, and make them part of, and, when possible, leaders of, the process, you are much more likely to be on your way to a successful change initiative.

JDA and Oliver Wight’s Myths and Realities of S&OP – The Verdict Part II (IV of IV)

In Monday’s post, we presented JDA and Oliver Wight’s 10 myths of S&OP planning, as laid out in recent white paper. Tuesday, we presented their 10 realities of S&OP planning. Yesterday we reviewed the first five myths and realities and offered our own verdict. Today we tackle the final five.

  1. Myth: S&OP is just another executive meeting.

    Reality: When executives take control of the process, they define the information that they need. Graphical views of aggregate information (both qualitative and quantitative) are crucial to an effective S&OP process.

    Verdict: Yes and no. Graphical views of aggregate information are crucial to identify overall trends, historical and projected future, and to quickly identify where reality is diverging from prediction, but hard numbers are going to be needed when it comes time to determine how much a plan is off and how much it needs to be corrected. And executives will define what they want to see, not necessarily what they need to make a good decision. That’s why supply chain needs to lead the process, and why supply chain analysts need to dive in and figure out how to present the executives not only with what they want, but the critical information that is needed to make a good decision.

  2. Myth: S&OP relies on a fixed demand plan or statistical forecast.

    Reality: Demand-shaping strategies and scenarios are evaluated through the monthly S&OP cycle. Executives need to evaluate different scenarios to identify and compare
    the effects on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

    Verdict: This is dead-on. Good S&OP uses good modelling and analysis tools to come up with good projections and good plans for presentation, discussion, nudging, and acceptance.

  3. Myth: S&OP processes are too complex and difficult to manage.

    Reality: Winning companies are collaborating with their trading partners.

    Verdict: Yes, but it’s not trading partner data, but POS data that is the most critical. This gives the most accurate view of historical and current demand that can be used to analyze the current plan. It’s only relevant that your supplier can only supply 30,000 units if you actually need 50,000. If you only need 20,000, your need can be met, and how many more units your supplier can supply is irrelevant.

  4. Myth: The finance team is just going to override any S&OP plan that we create.

    Reality: The new paradigm for S&OP incorporates financial analysis into each key step.

    Verdict: Not sure where this myth came from, as it’s usually marketing, sales or manufacturing that tries to override the number. Finance just wants a seat at the table. They will accept whatever plan is accurate, as that will allow cash flow to be optimized in such a way that the greatest benefit to the company is achieved.

  5. Myth: S&OP can be solved with the implementation of a tool.

    Reality: S&OP must have a combination of people, processes and tools working collectively.

    Verdict: Correctemundo.

So what’s the final verdict? Three realities were dead-on. Two were completely whacked. SI couldn’t make sense of one. Three more were only half right. And the last one was ok. SI gives it a C-. While there was obviously some thought and effort put into this paper, and it is worth a read, it would appear that it fails to remember that supply chain is central to successful S&OP (execution), data- and numbers-based analysis is critical to success, and one-size does not fit all, especially for certain categories of fast-moving consumer goods.