Evolve and find a better way

by Dr. Robert A. Kemp

Thomas Edison once said, “There is a better way — find it.”

The problem is that many of us today don’t believe that there is a better way, and certainly many of us aren’t dedicated to developing one. Many of us act and operate as if the processes we have are cast in stone. It’s a fact, though, that every organizational and operational process we use was put in place some time ago by our predecessors: hard-pressed men and women just like us. Most of these processes were right for their time. Some are still appropriate, but many are not.

There is a better way. And, it’s our responsibility to find it.

Take a personal inventory
It makes no difference where you look in supply management. We all use processes and procedures developed long ago. To see where you stand, answer these questions:

• Do you use procurement cards and electronic funds transfer (EFT)?

• Have you opted against managing small-dollar transactions?

• Have you eliminated the information gatekeeper roles at specified sites (e.g., requisition clerks, inventory controllers or expediters)?

• Do departments communicate well with one another?

• Do you use EDI, e-commerce, the Web and e-auctions?

• Have you eliminated the boundaries between you and your suppliers and, even better, between you and your customers?

• Is supply management involved in organizational strategic planning?

• Do supply management and suppliers have early involvement with engineering and product development?

• Do activities and data flow seamlessly across your organization and up and down your supply chain?

• Are you using the commodity concept in your buying activities?

• Do you use integrated supply?

• Do you have a formal supplier development program to build supplier relationships?

• Are you involved in developing lean operations?

• Do you have a meaningful professional development and training requirement for all your personnel?

If you answered “no” to one or more of these questions, you have huge opportunities to create new ideas, and your organization should expect great improvement. Tried-and-true ideas or concepts are available to help you develop that better way.

Moving toward a better way
Things will never be perfect, but we can and should make them better. Here are 10 concepts to get you and your organization started.

1) Open leadership deliberately seeks input from people on their terms and turf. Leaders should work diligently to seek information and pull people into the circle.

2) Involvement is like open leadership; the leader personally invites people to be involved. It is the leader’s responsibility to make this invitation personal and to follow up on its acceptance.

3) Professional development and training sets the stage for creativity and new ideas in the organization.

4) Support the work of those that go out on the limb to initiate actions. They deserve and expect support. Organizations must foster creativity.

5) Tear down the walls between teams, committees or organizational elements. The auto industry is the classic example of this point. In the past, it took seven years to design and develop a new car. Now, it takes three or four. That’s still too long, but we’re making progress.

6) Move from coordination to collaboration by obtaining open and honest involvement from the start. Successful efforts require vertical and horizontal involvement without regard to organizational boundaries.

7) Relocate work to make your organizations fit the current markets, customers, members and needs.

8) Simplify the processes to create seamless organizations with virtual communication and processes. Dump archaic processes/procedures and organizational red tape.

9) Promote change by selecting, training and developing a leadership team that genuinely wants to move the organization forward.

10) Recognition and rewards power motivation, performance and achievement. People want recognition for their achievements.

Make change happen
Edison’s challenge rings as true today as it did nearly 80 years ago. We must create organizational processes that encourage people to search for ways to build better systems that increase support for customers or members.

Successful leaders know that only three things in organizations can be changed: structure, process or people. Apply the 10 concepts discussed in this column and you can change any one or all three of these organizational dimensions.

Robert Kemp is a consultant, speaker and the former president of the Institute for Supply Management. He can be reached at .

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