Take this challenge:

Are Operations keeping pace with Sales?

If you feel the heat between Sales and Operations then the company is evolving and has an opportunity to grow bigger. Can you help get everyone to sail in the same direction and speed?

When babies grow teeth…

They say that when babies grow teeth, they experience the highest levels of pain they will ever suffer. Similarly, business growth is a blessing, but it can potentially involve a lot of pain. That’s how human and business evolution works. It’s a blessing, but we all need to cope with that. That’s what this challenge is targeting. Here are some examples of situations that may indicate the “operational growth” challenge. If any of these things listed below sound familiar, take up this challenge:

• Sold items are out of stock
• New orders are not manufactured or shipped in a timely manner
• New installations require support that is unavailable
• Requests for proposals are pending pricing inputs by Operations
• Some important clients are not happy with your levels of service
• The percentage of labor costs is increasing due to overtime
• The top management team is engaged with fighting fires rather than with planning ahead
• On top of the above, you are exhausted, and your personal life suffers accordingly

Embrace the “no blame” approach

The first element we should take out is blame. Current operational processes may still be designed to handle lower capacity sales or are assigned with insufficient resources. Some work could have been done if such higher levels of demand were reflected on the very first annual budget (right, the one that preceded the updated one). Now you all must work it out as a group.

Can you identify the specific process?

Second, identify the most disastrous situation you suffer as a result of the expedited flow of orders. What is it? Can you express it as a measurement of any key performance indicator (KPI)? What operational process is responsible for that KPI? That’s the process you should prioritize for adjustments.

Let’s look at specific cases

Third, get a better understanding of the challenges such a process is presenting. You can do this by drilling down and taking the worst cases that pull down the KPI used earlier. Study these cases and try to figure out how such cases can be avoided. Specifically, consider:

• Are there any policies or procedures that may need reconsideration?
• Are there any resources that may be required to facilitate the same?
• Can you quantify the effect that such a change can potentially have?

Your proposal will be much appreciated. Good luck!

© Dr. Sharon Gotteiner, Corpocheck.org. All Rights Reserved. This challenge is intended for individual use only. Please subscribe to receiving additional challenges, and sharing them across the organization.

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