Category: Change Management

Change Management and Business Process Transformation

How to Survive the Next 100 Days in Your Job!

Work from Home in a Coronavirus World!

The Coronavirus Pandemic has had a devastating impact on all of our lives. We still don’t know what the next year has in store for us let alone the next 100 days.

Many people have lost their jobs, either permanently or temporarily and indefinitely. Still others may have kept their jobs but been forced to take a pay cut or work reduced hours. And for many more they have had to start working from home which has its own set of complications.

While the economy will recover over time there is no guarantee that things will get back to the way they were. All those old jobs may not come back. And companies will still struggle to stay afloat and more jobs may still be at risk.

In this stressful environment what can you do over the next 100 days to ensure you survive and keep your job?

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10 Great Lessons Learned in Business!

Leadership Techniques To Inspire Your Team!

In reflecting back on over 1,000 sessions and almost 10,000 hours of working hands-on with entrepreneurial leadership teams, I’ve observed and learned some great business lessons that will help you and your leadership team.

My hope is that these leadership lessons will serve as constants for you as you build a great company, and that they’ll give you insight, something to shoot for, peace of mind, a wake-up call, and a few aha’s.

Enjoy.

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Supplier Collaboration is a Win-Win Strategy!

How to Create Collaborative Innovation with Suppliers!

Suppliers are an intrinsic part of the Supply Chain.  It does not matter what business you are in, what products you make, distribute and sell, or what part of the world you are in.  And it doesn’t matter where in the Supply Chain you are.  You can not accomplish anything without collaboration with your Suppliers.

Yet I have seen, like many of you, Suppliers treated in many different ways.  No matter what the circumstances are poor treatment of Suppliers is never appropriate.  Given that Customers fundamentally need their Suppliers to be successful why do people treat them badly?  And how do we ensure there is a healthy and productive relationship between Suppliers and Customers?

Working together with your Suppliers is always a formula for success!

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5 Ways to Create a More Positive Workplace!

Ground Rules for Creating a High Performance Organization (HPO)!

If you’re in the human resources department, or you have experience working in an office setting, you probably already understand the importance of doing your part to create a positive workplace culture.

You’ve probably already heard common recommendations, like opening the windows, practicing gratitude, and doing something fun, and yet, the vibe in your office remains the same.

That’s because you have to dig a little bit deeper if you truly want your workplace to be a more positive place to work, and you want it to stay that way.

Here are a few specific ways you can create a more positive workplace culture that go above and beyond the common advice that’s the norm among managers and HR personnel.

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5 Steps Towards Digital Supply Chain Transformation!

What is a Digital Transformation?

Here we present five important steps for all individuals that are interested in digital supply chain transformation to help you attain success despite the numerous challenges that you are likely to experience. 

In a digital supply chain, the different foundations are created using web-based elements. In the current generation, most systems are hybrid, which means that the supply chain systems utilize a mix of IT-enabled and paper-based systems.

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Warehousing: Optimize Storage Locations!

Disruptive Warehouse Technologies for Any Company!

“We just spent several millions of dollars on a new Warehouse Management System for our E-Commerce Online Distribution Centre.  We do not need to spend any more money on our Supply Chain.” That sounded very intriguing to say the least.  At a minimize we needed to optimize storage.

The E-Commerce business anticipated 20-30% year to year growth. I could only interpret, having just joined the company, that all of the steps and planning needed had been taken.  We had to ensure that the Distribution Centre could handle Holiday volumes, especially over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period.

However imagine my surprise when I went to the Online Distribution Centre.  All I saw was a very large warehouse with nothing but racks and shelving as far as the eye could see.  Employees were pushing carts up and down aisles, across the entire warehouse.  They were trying to find each of the products required to fill a particular customer order. The company had just invested in an expensive Warehouse Management System.

Yet  no time or money had been spent on process optimization, order fulfillment cycle time reduction,  cost reduction, or peak capacity load management.

We were in for a hectic Holiday season, at best!

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What Gets Measured Is What Gets Done!

On Time Delivery – Get that right First!

There are a myriad of variables and factors which affect your ability to achieve your objectives.   Deciphering this complexity to determine what should be measured is critical for driving improvements and change.

As with many aspects of your business there can literally be dozens and dozens of different metrics.  The same is true in sports.  So if you are trying to drive breakthrough results in your company or win on the field how do you determine what is important to measure?

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Our 2017 Top 10 List! – Part 2

It’s been a tremendous first year at  supplychaingamechanger.com.  Our goal has always been to share experiences and expertise.  And in the second half of 2017 we had an ever increasing number of articles contributed by industry leaders all of whom have been very generous in sharing their intellect and insights.  This is our second 2017 Top 10 List.

Our readers and contributors come from all over the world.  They include individuals new to Supply Chain as well as Industry leaders and everyone in between.   And they work in many different industries and vocations.   But they all have a common interest in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Leadership, Change Management, Human Resources, Transformation,  and Technology.

Most importantly they all have an interest in learning and sharing.

As we end this first year we wanted to publish our 2nd Top 10 List.  Our first Top 10 List covered the Top blog posts from the first half of 2017 so our 2nd Top 10 List will cover the second half of 2017.

Thank you for your tremendous, ongoing support.  

So here is our 2nd Top 10 List of 2017…

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Micro Fulfillment in Store!

Featuring Our 10 Best Warehouse Order Fulfillment Articles!
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Decades ago a customer could call their local grocery store and order the goods they wanted, for either pick up at the store or for home delivery. This option for order fulfillment had been adopted by some in the intervening decades. However this Micro Fulfillment has only become a more pervasive and dominant option due to the pandemic, which has shut down or restricted traditional retail in store selling.

Ship from store and Pick up in store last mile delivery options have been understood for some time but there have been reasons, pre-pandemic, which have inhibited their adoption.

Let’s explore in store Micro Fulfillment in more depth.

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How and When to Work with a Business Consultant!

6 Reasons To Hire an IT Consulting Firm!

Businesses rely on different specialists to run their operations, one of which is a business consultant. Mainly, they function as an external team member who assists in taking the business to another level. Owing to their expertise and wide array of skills, it’s in your best interest to hire one for your business. 

Their extensive experience in business analysis brings you relevant recommendations that can help solve your typical operating problems, improving production.

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Seasoned Leadership in Action™ – An Interview with Tony Giovaniello, President of Shasta EDC

Seasoned Leadership in Action ™ – Our 2018 All Star Leaders!
Tony Giovaniello, President Shasta EDC

At Supply Chain Game Changer we believe in sharing experiences and expertise from people in every industry and from across the globe.  As such we have introduced our “Seasoned Leadership in Action™” Interview series. This interview is with Tony Giovaniello, President of the Shasta EDC (Economic Development Corporation).

I first met Tony at Celestica.  We worked together in the Solutions Development organization, responsible for designing creative, winning proposals for customers, old and new.

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Supply Chain’s Moment of Truth Has Arrived!

Supply Chains Are Broken. Denial Will Kill Your Company!

With the relaxation of many of the protective pandemic protocols, more and more companies, institutions, and people are trying to get back to “normal”, or business as usual. However this is a moment of truth.

We can’t go back to business as usual. There have been too many disruptions in every aspect of our lives. The old ways of doing things, particularly in Supply Chain, have been exposed as contributing to these disruptions.

Still there are many who will conveniently forget the life changing experience we all have gone through with the pandemic, and this inertia will inhibit making the improvements necessary.

So will we move forward and make changes and improvements, or will we stagnate and remain stuck in the old ways? This is the most important Supply Chain question.

Supply Chain’s Moment of Truth has arrived!

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Procurement Transformation Delays – The Role of Personality!

Manage Procurement Spend Like It’s Your Own Business!

We’ve all heard of the need for Procurement to embrace the Digital Procurement transformation for many years. 

So why are so many organizations still in the beginning of this process?  

Why are industry projections failing to materialize despite ample technological advancements in Procurement?

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Executive Sponsorship to Enable Change!

The Future of the Chief Procurement Officer … Is Already Here!
SC Viral The Pandemic Diaries
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Anyone who is trying to make changes will be met with a variety of reactions and responses.  This will happen regardless of how important the change is to your Job, your Department, your Function or your Company.  But what if you had Executive Sponsorship?

Certainly there will be people who will happily, and openly, be willing to support you and help in any way they can.  While this is critical, it is more important to understand that there are those who will aggressively oppose you.  They may put obstacles in your way or they will be passive aggressive in their lack of support.

There may be many good reasons that you will be faced with this kind of opposition.  However it is incumbent upon you, as the leader, to take all necessary steps to address these issues head on.  One technique that can help you and your Company is to solicit and acquire visible and active Executive Sponsorship!

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7 Signs of Excellent Procurement Teams!

Creating a High Performance Organization! (Infographic)
Unchaining Change Leadership

Excellence, or superiority, is often the goal in corporate organizations. Each and every function, within its own right, including Procurement teams, strives for excellence and achievement in order for a company to collectively grow, evolve, and thrive.

Achieving excellence seldom comes easy. Hardships and roadblocks are to be expected taking the road less traveled towards change and transformation, but without daring to create something contemporary, one often settles for commonality.

There is no one answer to success and achievement, but there are parallels that can be drawn between organizations that simply exist, and those that prosper.

Procurement is a function that has long been at cross-roads; dare to transform within people, process & technology, or keep doing what has always worked just fine.

Continue reading “7 Signs of Excellent Procurement Teams!”