What Gets Measured Is What Gets Done!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

SC Viral The Pandemic Diaries

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!

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.

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Competing against Amazon? You Need A Blue Ocean Strategy!

Amazon is far and away the leader in the E-C0mmerce space.  Their growth continues at an exceptional pace.  And they continue to expand their products, services, and capabilities.  In short they continue to press their advantage and make it difficult for anyone else to compete with them.  You need a Blue Ocean strategy!

But if you are in the E-Commerce space that is your reality.  Amazon is the biggest shark in the room.  So how do you compete in the face of such an overwhelming adversary?

One technique is to consider creating your own Blue Ocean Strategy to create competitive advantage!  If you can define dramatically different space in which to do business you may be able to keep this shark, and others, at bay (at least for a period of time).

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Unleash Your Employees’ Ideas to Truly Change the Game!

Organizations that are either considered high performing or who aspire to become high performing understand that their employees are their greatest asset.  A company can only achieve its overall objectives if their employees are aligned, on board and driving toward those goals, and if their ideas are heard.

At its core your employees understand how well or how poorly the day-to-day processes in your company run better than anyone else.  They also have tremendous ideas on how to improve those processes, how to improve your metrics, and how to achieve your objectives.

So how do you tap in to that intellect, unleash those ideas, and empower your employees in an organized and efficient manner?  How do you get your finger on the pulse of what is on your employee’s minds?

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Tips for Mitigating Risk During Your Firm’s Digital Transformation!

The future of business is digital. It empowers companies with more capabilities, facilitates more meaningful interactions between corporations and customers, and hastens important processes. 

However, digital transformation doesn’t come naturally. All these techniques and integrations must be integrated into your business with precision. Any mishaps can have far-reaching consequences, and you could set your company back rather than advance it forward if you fail to prepare properly and in mitigating risk. 

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Our 2021 Top 10 List! (Part 2)

As we come to the end of our 5th year here at Supply Chain Game Changer it’s time to reflect on the tremendous events of the year.

The effects of the Coronavirus pandemic have continued to stretch far and wide, unabated, touching many aspects of all of our lives. Even the supply of Christmas Trees will be impacted in some fashion by the pandemic due to logistics delays, trucker shortages, and environmental forces.

We would like to thank our incredible followers and readers for the ongoing support. Supply Chain Game Changer is recognized as a Top 10 site globally in Supply Chain, Logistics, and Procurement. We’ve been recognized for global Though Leadership and Influence in Change Management, Supply Chain, Management and Education Technology.

And as we ended the year we published our 1000th article! An amazing milestone representing our extensive library with something for everyone.

So let’s review our Top 10 list articles for the second half of 2021!

Continue reading “Our 2021 Top 10 List! (Part 2)”

Struggling with Process Ownership? Is it a Failure to Communicate?

Does your business struggle with process ownership? Are your process improvements not “sticking”? The failure of an organization to have in place well-functioning process owners is a common occurrence these days.

The root causes (if anyone cares to do a full postmortem) are numerous. We’ve heard it all before; “the organizational structure won’t allow for it”, “incentives are misaligned”, “leaders don’t understand what it takes to be a process owner” etc. I’m sure we can all relate to some or all of these statements.

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Inventory Turnover Breakthrough … Go Back To The Basics!

I had accepted a career changing challenge … how to change the company’s Inventory Turnover performance from being perennially worst in the Industry to being one of the best.  And I had to do it all within 1 year!

I had seen many very smart people tackle this problem over the years.  Yet they all seemed to come up short.  Sure they improved some aspect of Inventory levels or turnover but in aggregate these all seemed to amount to incremental, step function changes.  We needed game changing results!  We needed a game changing approach!  And we needed it now!

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