Category: Change Management

Change Management and Business Process Transformation

Seasoned Leadership in Action™! An Interview with John Heffernan, Chief Supply Chain Officer at ModusLink!

John Heffernan
John Heffernan, CSCO at ModusLink

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 at Supply Chain Game Changer.  This interview is with John Heffernan, Chief Supply Chain Officer at ModusLink.

I met John on my first day at ModusLink.  He was presenting to the Board of Directors.  John was one of the Global Operations Executives for the company.   He had complete command of his facts, situation, direction and strategy.   He was so knowledgable that his expertise and experience came shining through in everything that he said.

As John and I continued to work together we knew that we needed to make serious, game changing improvements around the world.  John and I continued to positively challenge and build on each other’s ideas and thinking.  This culminated in the deployment of a phenomenal program and the achievement of world class, industry leading results.  We raised each other’s game to the benefit of all!

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How to Prepare for Your Cloud Adoption Journey!

An Insight into Cloud Computing!

Cloud technology is the new norm in today’s digital world, with many organizations embracing its benefits for their businesses. With cloud technology, you can go paperless, have better data storage, access resources from anywhere in the world and more.

While it can help save business costs, transitioning to cloud technology is complex.

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Our 2021 Top 10 List!

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In the middle of our 5th year here at Supply Chain Game Changer we are proud to publish our 2021 Top 10 List. Here we are showcasing our 10 most popular articles for the first half of the year.

Since we’ve started we have amassed an extensive library of over 750 articles. There is something for everyone no matter what your interests, challenges and needs may be from one day to the next. And that fulfills our mission of sharing experiences and expertise for the benefit of all.

Still there is always more to right about to help our readers.

So let’s take some time to reflect, and look back on our 2021 top 10 list … so far!

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Leadership Techniques To Inspire Your Team!

Lessons from Bad Bosses!
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Leaders and leadership techniques are worth their salt are those who inspire others to be great.

Whether you’re a sales manager or a CEO, bringing out the best in people you work with is key to the success of your organization.

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The Breakthrough Improvement Spectrum!

Ground Rules for Creating a High Performance Organization (HPO)!
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Every day every individual, team, department, and company is faced with the need to make improvements. These changes, and the approach that each necessitates, fall along an improvement spectrum.

Some of these improvements are small and easily made. Others are herculean and overwhelming.

Some of these improvements are in reaction to problems or challenging circumstances. Others are preemptive and visionary.

Regardless of what situation is driving the need for change, change is upon you. Consistent with a situational leadership philosophy, different drivers of change require different approaches.

In this article we discuss the breakthrough improvement spectrum of approaches that you should deploy depending on what your specific situation merits.

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Welcome To The Supply Chain Game Changer ™ Blog!

The Supply Chain Game Changer ™ Blog!

Welcome to the Supply Chain Game Changer ™ blog.

The Supply Chain touches all of our lives whether it be in business or personally.  No matter what industry you are in or are touched by, all involve the movement of goods, services, and information.  So the most efficient functioning of the Supply Chain affects us all.  And it affects us in every aspect of our lives whether we are consumers, employees, or business leaders.

With a career spent in Supply Chain I’ve seen many ways of performing the processes involved in managing the Supply Chain.  Many of these processes are highly efficient.  Yet many more are highly inefficient.  Regardless, everyone strives to improve the way things are done.  And every experience has been an opportunity for growth.

Supply Chain Management

In this blog I’d like to share my experiences, and those of others, in improving, working in, managing in and being managed by the Supply Chain.  

There have been some remarkable achievements and there have been some missteps along the way.  However there are lessons to be learned and experiences to be shared in every case.  And I hope that this learning and shared experience will be of value as you seek to improve the Supply Chain you are a part of.

On top of that we want to share anything and everything related to Leadership, Change Management, Technology, Procurement, Purchasing, Distribution, Logistics, and much, much more.

Overall Supply Chain Game Changer can serve you as a guide as you do your jobs and as you progress through your career.  The issues and challenges that you face will be different for everyone on any given day.  There is something for everyone in Supply Chain Game Changer.

Additionally I invite you to comment and send me content.  By learning, not only from successes but from failures, we will all be better going forward.  There is a wonderful world of people and experiences that we can all learn from.

So again I welcome you to the Supply Chain Game Changer™ blog.

Let’s go!

What Exactly Is Supply Chain Management? 10 Different Definitions!

Starting a New Job? Be a Positive Impact Player to Succeed!

6 Reasons Supply Chain Employees Look For New Jobs!

I have seen many people join a new company and take a new job or leave for another company.  While I don’t have the precise statistics it is fair to say that as many as half of the people joining a new company will do well.  However atleast half of these people will struggle in their new roles and in their new companies.  Many will fail altogether.

What makes someone more or less successful when making such a career move?  What are the environmental factors which affect this outcome?  And most importantly what is it that the new employee does or doesn’t do that makes them succeed or fail?

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Naming Your Project Will Rally Everyone To Your Cause!

Naming a Product or Company? It’s Not That Easy!
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“I’d like you to join our company.  One of the Projects you will lead is our ‘Productivity Initiative’ unless you will be naming your project. We need to transform all of our business processes and culture and improve our efficiencies everywhere.”

Wow!  What a great challenge and opportunity to make a difference.  But calling it the “Productivity Initiative”?  That was as inspiring as watching paint dry or grass grow.

“I’ll do it!  But we need to give this Project a NAME.  A NAME that will inspire people, motivate people, and capture the essence of the change and cultural transformation that we are looking for.  And this can’t be an ‘Initiative” … it has to be an ‘Imperative’ … this is not optional … we have to transform the business and we need everyone to rally around our cause!

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McDonald’s Supply Chain Challenge: Switching from Frozen to Fresh Burgers!

KFC Ran Out of Chicken! What Supply Chain Lessons Can We Learn?
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Back in early 2018, McDonald’s – a pioneer in cold chain distribution – announced that it was testing out using fresh patties instead of frozen in burgers at 300 of its U.S. locations.

Which doesn’t sound like a huge deal, but for one of the world’s largest Supply Chains – one that’s been using frozen burgers in its stores for decades – it represented an interesting test case in how companies can use supply chain strength to pivot as the market changes.

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Driving the Need for Culture Change!

Creating the Culture to Break Barriers!
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You have determined that something has to change in your company! Customer satisfaction may be low.  Employee morale may be in the dumps.  Financial results and operating performance may be falling far short of your objectives. You need culture change!

Or maybe you don’t have any of these problems. But you view that your company is performing well now yet it is not well positioned to go to the next level and be successful in the future.

Or it could be any combination of these pressures.  Whatever the reason, you have come to the realization that the culture of your company must change to get the results you need!

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The Change Leadership Process … And Guide!

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Digital Transformation of SCM and Change Management!

Eventually everyone is going to be faced with the need to either lead or participate in a process designed to drive change and transformation.

The need for change may be reactive.  Your competition may be eating your lunch.  Your company may be losing money or bleeding cash.  Or your metric performance may be well short of target.

Or the drive for change may be proactive.  Your company may be leading in your industry and have great performance.  But there is a risk of complacency seeping in.  Or your competition can’t be counted out so you need to increase your competitive advantage.  Or you may want to blow your targets out of the water.

Whatever the driving force for change is, wouldn’t it be great to be equipped  with the know-how to make that change happen.

Here is our view of the Change Leadership Process!

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3 Tips for Helping Your Employees Succeed!

How to Plan a Successful Office Fitout!

It is a common practice for workers to complain about their bosses. In the same right, it is practically a right of passage for leaders in a company to complain about their employees when you should be helping your employees.

Let’s get this clear from the start. If you are a leader, don’t do that.

Control what you can control and do what you can to make your employees lives easier. In return, they will take notice and make your life easier as well.

It is important that any business owner or leader accept the fact that their employees will not care about the business as much as they do. This is not strange.It is not a character flaw. It is not their business. The success of the business is not as much of a priority to them as getting their paycheck and doing the work that allows them to support themselves and their family. 

Some companies are adopting a new idea, along the lines of ‘my employees do not work for me, I work for them.’

This changes the dynamic of the employer-employee relationship in a powerful way.

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The Art of Supply Chain Management!

Creating a High Performance Organization! (Infographic)

For many people who work in Supply Chain Management, or for those on the outside, it functions on the foundation of processes, formulae, and metrics. This is very much the core of Supply Chain education and certification as well.

But in truth the most effective and efficient Supply Chain operations, and Supply Chain leaders, transcend these basics. How many of our current problems are because people are stuck in thinking about the mere mechanics of Supply Chain.

The best Supply Chains, and their leaders, have mastered the ART of Supply Chain Management!

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Broken Links are a Chance to Strengthen Your Supply Chain!

Is Just In Time Past Its Time?

Continuity of supply requires every aspect of your Supply Chain to be connected. The word “chain” makes the interdependence of these Supply Chain links clear, both metaphorically and literally. Supply Chain cannot function with broken links.

Raw material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, logistics companies, processes, systems and resources must all function, more or less harmoniously, to make any Supply Chain work.

But, just as elements of the Supply Chain must be linked, it is also true that links can and will be broken, whether deliberately or accidentally, and certainly unexpectedly.

The effectiveness of any Supply Chain is how to reattach these links, or forge new links, to make your Supply Chain more resilient, more robust and stronger than ever.

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Want Success? Integrate a Change Work Stream in your Transformation!

Change Leadership Success: Attack on all Fronts!
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The nature of the results you are trying to achieve will determine the type of change you need to create and the work stream to make it happen.

If you are making changes to a very small part of your job then your focus is very localized.  If you are leading a project solely aimed at achieving a specific result then your change management focus is somewhat larger.   But if you are leading a business-wide long term transformation then you need a comprehensive Change Leadership work stream and strategy.

While there are similar elements in driving change at any of these levels, the broader transformation requires a well thought out, well articulated Change Leadership program to be in place to lay the foundation for, and govern, your transformation.

Continue reading “Want Success? Integrate a Change Work Stream in your Transformation!”