Transforming
your ticket to the game into business sustainability
These days the ability to provide a 3rd
party logistics service (freight management, freight forwarding, contract logistics
etc.) is simply a ticket to the game: it may open doors, but it puts the
business in the commodity space, where the lowest price wins.
Leveraging
the whole picture for sustainability
If the people in your organisation have the
tools to speak the language of Supply Chain Management and to offer solutions
across the whole supply chains of your customers then you are adding huge
value: monetising that value is what will sustain your business.
To attain such an objective implies radical
changes at a strategic level: sustainable 3rd party logistics
providers have the ability to collaborate with others in building end to end
solutions and the ability to integrate systems so that the implementation of
such solutions is seamless and transparent down to the last nut and bolt in
every transaction.
It is the people within your organisation
who must be empowered to make all of this happen and in this context it is
those responsible for training who are the critical change agents in such a
transformation.
From the training manager’s point of view,
for such a transformation to be successful, it needs to take place at all
levels. The whole of your company needs to have an awareness of supply chain management terminology and its role in
your customers’ respective supply chains, people at operation level need to
have certain foundational competencies
in the different aspects of supply chain collaboration and integration, those
at supervisory and operations management level need to be proficient in these areas whilst those at, or aspiring to be,
senior managers need to be experts.
To bring your company to these levels is
not cheap and the secret to cost effective training interventions lies in establishing
firstly the specific competencies required and then what is already available
within your organisation.
Just as the 3rd party logistics
provider needs to use consultative selling techniques to find out exactly what
the customer wants and to tailor solutions to meet those needs, so you need a
training provider to work with you in mapping your organisation’s competency
needs and how these should be met. Such solutions must be structured to meet
individual needs down to study unit level and to make use of the best blend of
face to face and elearning methodologies. For honing the sword of your
company’s ability to stand out in the crowd, at least some of these solutions
will need to be developed and delivered in house.
For successful training programme
development and maximum delivery impact it is essential that those responsible
for training act as the bridge between your organisation’s departments its
training providers.
For the person who will act as this
connection, these are
some tactics for building the bridge to your business units:
Obtain copies
of annual reports, strategy documents, team meeting minutes or notes, and any
other documents that can give you a sense of what is important to the business.
Participate
in team and/ or strategic meetings and invite line managers or supervisors to
join you for meals;
Show an
interest in the business and their challenges by asking questions which will
help you understand their language and speak it.
Above all,
ensure that the impact of your training programmes is evaluated, both
immediately and some time after delivery and that the data so obtained is used
to continually improve your and your training provider’s programmes.
The key to
building bridges is to first establish each individual’s needs in relation to
the organisation’s strategy. Training interventions need to be prioritised in
terms of the needs of the business, not your training department.
How does
your company rate as a provider of solutions as opposed to a deliverer of
services?
Does your
whole company speak the language of supply chain management or is there still
much work to be done?
Is the lack
of skills a constraint to your company’s growth? If so, how can you address
this?
Would you
classify your company as a mover of cargo or a manager of inventory whilst at
rest or in motion? Are you comfortable with this?
