Beata Leyland
Business Owner & Author of this article
You don’t need to be a specialist in all sectors, but you need to be open to ask questions, know when to step in, and when to step out, when to advise, and also when to leave your client with their own thoughts.
Intrigued ?
Supply Chain is a background for some, and forefront for others.
For business Owners many times it is an essential tool to achieve their goals.
Many times, it’s diminished, misunderstood and treated for granted.
Luckily for us Supply Chain World Crew, we know that problems are part of our landscape so it’s impossible to avoid us or definitely not to diminish us.
I would describe this world as full of people with extraordinary communication skills, resilient to stress and open.
At least for people working on the global scale. It’s not a sector which I would recommend everyone to work but I believe all of us need to know some principles, which are obvious for Experts, but not obvious at all for Small and Mid-Size Companies, or StartUps.
Customer Centric
All is about the client.
If you have a product to be manufactured, you need to make sure that you truly understand what the product is about with minor details.
You don’t need to be a specialist in all sectors, but you need to be open to ask questions, know when to step in, and when to step out, when to advise, and also when to leave your client with their own thoughts.
It’s a very different type of communication because from one hand you need to understand the product but if you want to work long-term with your client you have to add to the equation their sales and marketing strategy, but also their schedule and personality.
Sometimes it is better to say less, sometimes more but respect is always the bottom line.
Demand-Driven Planning
The first few forecasts are always wrong.
Some manufacturers don’t even ask for forecasts anymore, rather predictable sales or budget.
To truly understand demand planning you need to coordinate sales team, warehouse, marketing, buyers and the Founder/Executive in one place where all of them can be free to express their concerns and doubts without being judged.
You would be surprised how rare it is to have all these people being fully honest.
What to do in such situation?
You need to ask all of them separately, establish trust with your client to the point where they can tell you where the company really is and what it is his/her plan.
I’ve noticed that some people hide these data even for years because they were used in the past, only to repeat the cycle.
Honesty is a key for a 3rd party to help you.
You can’t mitigate risk for the company if you don’t know what is below the carpet.
Strategic Sourcing and Diversity
Here is my favourite part: diversity of suppliers as a key to sustainable growth.
If you have global and local manufacturers you truly can mitigate external risks as a pro.
Let’s be real, not from Day 1 you will have such a luxury but as a long-term strategy this should be a key goal if you want to build a business which will last years.
Strategic Sourcing is more than research.
It’s an art of communication between a client and factories.
If your client hides data from you, this will hit them more in the end.
Reaching out to people and negotiating is a skill which people can learn but there’s a reason why a few people will get different results.
It’s about questions, being confident, knowing how to speak with whom, being open and read between the lines.
These set of skills comes with experience and many failed conversations and negotiations.
Excellent Data Visibility
Data driven decisions are a huge part of running every business, here is no different.
What is important is to assure accuracy of your data and understand your figures.
What do I mean by that?
If you know that the Warehouse Manager always adds a few percent of damaged goods and the demand planner adds 10% to everything, you can read your inventory in stock differently than only seeing figures.
When you truly understand how people plan, how data are pooled it’s easier to truly plan long-term.
So many external circumstances influence our plans when you understand methodology of people pooling data you can truly make a difference.
Collaboration and Resistance
In this industry extraordinary situations always happen; the question is how it affects you.
That’s why it’s so crucial to communicate clearly with others.
Have connections among people from different sectors, treat people with respect as you never know how fast you will knock on their door asking for help.
You need to understand and find people whom you can trust and people who can trust you.
You would be truly surprised what kind of knowledge sharing happens behind closed doors where buyers from different sectors speak among each other.
Resistance is a part of the landscape.
Unless you have an administrative supply chain job, you will face heat rather frequently.
Sustainability and Compliance
All manufacturing processes must meet regulatory requirements, industry standards, deadlines,
MOQ and a long list of other rules and regulations which are specific to your product.
Rules change, but the people who execute them not as often so having someone who not only obtained certification but also has hands on experience is a gift.
Many times, factories provide such a service, or your consultant.
Whoever it is, make sure you pick someone with extraordinary communication skills-it’s a big green flag!
As you can see the Supply Chain World is rather complex, but not so scary or blurry as it might look like at the beginning.
The key is to choose the right people to help you with all of it.
Otherwise, hiccups might cost you lots of money and time, and tremendous stress.
We are easily approachable, experienced and happy to help anytime when you need such help.
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