Be on top of your game and discuss the latest trends in manufacturing and logistics.

1. What are the latest obstacles manufacturing executives face?
2. Why can’t we find the skills we need even though there are still high unemployment rates?
3. What are keys to success to thriving in California? How about survive?
4. Which opportunities should we leverage to drive customer service levels?

Join the APICS (Association of Operations Management) Inland Empire for an exclusive Symposium on Obstacles and Opportunities of Manufacturing and Logistics in the Inland Empire.

Your investment options:
1. Free: members (included as a member benefit). However, you must sign up to reserve your space.
2. $25: non-members. However, if you join APICS on the day of the symposium, we’ll put it towards your membership fee.
3. The proceeds will be donated to the student case competition in this year’s West Coast competition. There are 25 teams from local universities competing.

Register here: click here

Lisa Anderson
President, APICS Inland Empire

It’s clear that project management isn’t the most exciting topic around executive roundtables and Board meetings yet it can make or break almost any critical corporate objective. Often, I hear, “Leave it to the project teams to implement”. Although that makes sense, it doesn’t receive nearly the interest as implementing a “new program” such as lean or scorecarding or whatever is perceived as the latest and greatest “fix” to all ailments. Thus, the project teams drudge along but don’t have the same level of recognition and passion for accelerating progress and delivering results.

A partial answer to this dilemma is to promote your project. Generate the interest. It’s amazing what can be achieved through executive interest and enthusiasm alone. I’ve written an article on how to promote and market a project to ensure success. Read a few tips here.

© Lisa Anderson 2012. All rights reserved.

I read an interesting article in an APICS publication which cited research by Michael Koploy about logistics jobs. I’ve seen the same trend with these positions within my clients. If you are an employee, how can you gain the expertise and stand out in the crowd? If you are an employer, how can you stand out as the employer of choice to get the best talent?

The top jobs include:
1. Demand planning analyst
2. Procurement manager
3. Distribution center supervisor
4. Supply chain consultant
5. 3PL business development manager

© Lisa Anderson 2012. All rights reserved.

If there is one common recurring theme with my clients, it’s that those companies who find and retain the best people will thrive while their competition struggles to remain in the game. In my experience in working with executives across multiple industries and globally, those who create a talent edge not only deliver bottom line results but they also quickly develop a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

In today’s new normal business environment, sales are lackluster, cash is hoarded and customers continually demand more for less. We’re in a new ballgame. We must elevate performance exponentially to succeed in the new normal. Thus, the #1 way to ensure success goes back to your people. Will your team beat your competitor’s teams? You must develop a talent edge – and fast! What are the keys to success in developing a talent edge? 1) Recruiting is not an afterthought! 2) Retention is not about benefits. 3) People must become your #1 asset.

1) Recruiting is not an afterthought – HR should NOT lead the recruiting effort! They are a valuable resource in the process LED by the business leader. Business leaders must consider recruiting as a critical priority. How else will you ensure you find the best talent for your organization? It’s easy to get caught up in the process and hire the wrong person. Unfortunately, I’ve made this mistake more than once.
So, how can we learn from our mistakes? Be involved. No matter how busy, it must be a top priority. Trust me, if you hire the wrong person, it will not only lead to poor performance but it will also absorb countless hours of time. Involve several key leaders in the interview process. Make sure you have a clear understanding of your “must haves” vs. “nice-to-haves” in a candidate. And most importantly, references and referrals are vital. I’ve found that some folks can seem like they walk on water in an interview yet fail miserably. Why not find out before you hire them?

2) Retention is not about benefits – Interestingly, I’ve found that there are many companies who will prioritize recruitment but forget about their current star employees. What could be more important than ensuring that your star employees are retained?

Salary and benefits will not retain star employees. Of course you must be in the ballpark but it will be useless as a retention vehicle. Instead, it’s all about leadership. Do your stars feel valued? Do you provide challenging opportunities? Or do you dump others’ work on them because you know they’ll get it done? Do you have frequent conversations to understand how you can help them be successful? As easy as this seems, how often does it happen? Or are you stuck spending your time with poor performers and daily issues?

I often times come across star employees while working with my clients as they are the ones who will “get it done”. It is obvious as to which leaders truly value their stars, and it relates quite closely to the engagement level of the stars.

3) People must become your #1 asset – Whether you say people are important or not, it’s irrelevant if what they see doesn’t add up to what they hear. Those leaders who believe their employees are their #1 asset will see more importance with solid performance management systems and leadership development than with their most costly piece of equipment. Much easier said than done!

For example, if your new, million dollar ERP system or piece of machinery has an issue, will you still prioritize a conversation with your star vs. problem solving if you have to make the choice for a 30 minute window?

Prioritize developing a talent edge and everything else will follow. It isn’t capital intensive and doesn’t require precious cash so why not give it a try?

© Lisa Anderson 2012. All rights reserved.

ERP system implementations fell off the grid during the recession; however, I’ve seen resurgence in the last year. Companies are thinking about investing again. However, although businesses are picking up, they are by no means out of the woods – every dollar invested must provide a solid return.

Implementing a new ERP system can provide you with upgraded tools to run your business or it can devastate your business – it all depends on the effectiveness of your ERP selection and implementation processes. It is not nearly as simple as it seems. Unfortunately, in my experience, 80% of the time, it fails to achieve the expected results. Worse yet, I’ve seen some horrific customer service impacts. Thus, when you choose to implement an ERP system, it’s worth taking into consideration the lessons learned from failures.

After being involved with many system implementations including several ERP implementations across multiple industries and globally, I’ve seen what works and have compiled lessons learned from failures. As I could go on for days on this topic, I thought I’d pick three top lessons learned from failures to discuss: 1) It’s all about culture change. 2) It’s not black or white. 3) KISS.

1) It’s all about culture change
One of the largest and most commonly repeated mistakes is to forget about the culture. It doesn’t matter if you’ve purchased the latest, best, world-class system; if you haven’t considered your culture in your selection and implementation plans, you can count on failure.

As system implementations always involve some aspect of culture change, it is vital to think about it in advance. What are your culture norms? Are you planning to change the culture? Are you thinking you’ll change the culture by implementing a new system? I hope not, as it won’t work! Instead, you should consider how to integrate the new system and work processes into the culture in a way that will benefit the organization.

If you incorporate culture change into your plans and stick by them (a plan that is communicated but not executed is worse than no plan at all), you’ll be able to leverage the system implementation to achieve significant results. Remember successful culture change requires exceptional leadership.

2) It’s not black or white
I have lost count of how many times I’ve seen ERP implementation teams forget common sense – what will “work”? Instead, as these types of projects tend to be massive, they will throw out random rules such as “no changes to the way the system is designed”, “we’ll do a conference room pilot but we cannot make changes”, “we’ll keep the same number of people in xzy function as we cannot afford to increase staffing” (regardless of whether it would stay the same overall but needs to be adjusted by functional area), etc. Instead, we need to think in terms of guidelines and allow for common sense.

For example, one of the most frequent rules thrown out is “no changes to the way the system performs the function” – we’ve spent a boatload of money on this system, and we need to use it as it was intended. I loved one comment, “xzy system is set up for best practices; use them” (even though these best practices were not aligned with the industry requirements and would lead to disaster). Of course, these statements are reasonable overall and can be a common sense guideline; however, it can lead to disaster when viewed without consideration for the circumstances. Allows for a few tweaks, and I’ve seen companies dig out of customer service nightmares and achieve 98-99% levels.

3) KISS
KISS (Keep it simple stupid) – I was reminded of this by a former mentor recently. Why is there such an inclination to get complex and convoluted so quickly? I find that it is best to continually review the plans, progress and system utilization for simplicity. There is no reason you need to implement all of the system functionality, even if you purchased it. Instead, think about what will add value to your business. Look at it from a lean point of view – what is waste? And keep it simple. Of all of the system implementations I’ve seen or participated with, those which kept it simple turned out significant better than those who wanted to leverage all the complexity the system had to offer on day one.
In today’s new normal business environment, it is not only essential to improve the bottom line but it is also vital to provide exceptional service levels. Do not let your system implementation transition from a tool to leverage for success to the noose around your neck weighing your business down. Learn from others’ failures and continually remind yourself to focus on culture and common sense.

Lisa Anderson, President of LMA Consulting Group, Inc. www.lma-consultinggroup.com, is a senior supply chain and operations executive and management consultant. To learn more about her, read her bio: http://www.theacagroup.com/anderson.htm.

© Lisa Anderson 2012. All rights reserved.

As 2011 winds down, it is an opportune time to evaluate this year’s progress and to think about strategy for 2012. I find that in order to get ahead of the curve (NO longer a nice-to-have in today’s new normal business environment); it is vital to incorporate the latest critical success factors for thriving in the emerging business environment.

In my 20+ years of experience as an operations executive, business consultant, entrepreneur and trade association leader, I’ve found a common element of success which spans industries, geographies and company size – synthesizing emerging trends and incorporating into core strategies and tactics. Thus, my persistent focus is in identifying trends and uncovering hidden opportunities. The top three business trends I’m focusing on for 2012 include: 1) Create a customer service edge. 2) Excellence in execution. 3) Become agile.

1. Create a customer service edge - Undoubtedly, the game has changed. New sales no longer occur by answering the phone. Instead, similar to consumers, customers want “more for less” and “now”. In essence, providing customer satisfaction is no longer enough, as it is expected; instead, you must stand out from the crowd and create a customer service edge.

For example, I worked with a client during the recession that was severely impacted by the housing market crash to evaluate their supply chain model. After we freed up cash by bringing down inventory levels, it seemed readily apparent that if sales were 50% of pre-crash levels, we had to reduce the supply chain footprint. Yet it’s never as easy as it appears!

Instead, we discovered that creating a customer service edge was worth its weight in gold, as customers in this industry prioritized customer service. If you could consistently deliver a 5% shorter lead time with solid service and reasonable pricing, you’d win the business. Thus, although we reduced the footprint where it made sense, more importantly, we designed a supply chain network that could deliver a customer service edge.

2. Excellence in execution – Execution is back in style! I’ve always seen the value in execution and so I’m thrilled it is making a comeback. Thinking back to creating a customer service edge, how can we do that if we aren’t reliable? We can’t! Therefore, execution is essential.

Also, how we can deliver “more for less” without losing margin? No easy feat! Yet if we re-think our definition of what is valuable to the customer and focus attention and resources on just those which are most valuable while delivering flawless operational excellence, we’ll have addressed margins.

How do we accomplish excellence in execution? In essence, go back to basics. Blocking and tackling wins the day. Focus on culture, people, processes, and systems. Leadership is essential. Follow up. Ask questions.

3. Become agile – Last but not least, we must become agile. Volatility is the new norm. We cannot afford to be unprepared for the new norm yet we can’t afford extra resources and costs just in case. Instead, we need to work smarter; not harder. Build flexibility into your people, processes and systems. If a critical customer asked for something which didn’t follow standard protocols, would you be able to deliver without creating havoc and excessive cost? Creating agility is much easier said than done. Leadership is again vital to success.

Think about how these trends could impact your business, department or role. How can you get ahead of the curve? I have no doubt that those who incorporate what makes sense of these trends to their business rapidly and effectively will have the opportunity to leapfrog their competition.

© Lisa Anderson 2012. All rights reserved.

Why do failures generate so much interest? Perhaps as students, we had it pounded into our heads that mistakes are bad – avoid failure at all costs. What can we learn from failure?

1. First, failure isn’t fatal - not only is failure not fatal but it also is critical to success. What?!? Yes, the only way to innovate is to try new things, which ensures failure somewhere down-the-line.

2. Leverage failure – If you’re going to fail, don’t hide under a bush! Instead, find out what happened so that you can leverage those lessons in your next attempt.

3. Ask questions – One of the best ways to discover the “small things” which are the difference between success and failure is to ask questions. Leverage the talent of your team, peers, and experts.

4. Leverage strengths – It might sound odd to look for strengths in failure but typically something went well, even if the task, project or experiment failed. See if there’s a way to better leverage your strengths.

5. Look for trends – As Edison failed countless times before his significant success, it is important to look for trends. Is there a trend of what’s working or what’s not working? Anything different or unique from one attempt to the next? Trends can be enlightening.

© Lisa Anderson 2012. All rights reserved.

As we start the New Year, I thought it was worthwhile to discuss critical yet often overlooked blocking and tackling maneuvers that ensure success. As most are debating New Year’s resolutions and how to reengage after the holidays, why not get a leg up on the competition by excelling at what most know but do not use? Execution discipline.

Can you imagine your favorite football team going to the Super Bowl without practicing? Preposterous? Then, why do we think we can skip foundational elements of success? Instead, I find that those people and organizations that excel at the basics succeed every time. What are those top strategies that ensure success? 1) Organize. 2) Prioritize. 3) Plan & Execute.

1. Organize – There is no way to succeed if you don’t know what’s on your plate. You must organize! How will you find what you need when you need it? Have you categorized? For example, if my client has 1,000 customers, 200 suppliers, and 10,000 parts, how likely is it that something will be needed every day? Quite likely. And how likely is it that my client will be able to quickly understand how to find or where to look up information and/or whether it’s important to address quickly? It depends….how organized are they?
For example, are customers segregated by size, type, geography etc.? Does everyone know where to find notes on previous supplier meetings? Are part numbers segregated by product family, machine, customer, etc.? Organization doesn’t require rocket science but it does require thought.

2. Prioritize – Frequently, I’m finding that my clients could accelerate results simply by prioritizing. Not surprisingly, firefighting is common. After all, if an executive sees a fire break out (such as an angry, top customer or a demanding Board member), he or she will jump to put it out. The problem arises when we stay busy on a daily basis solely fighting fires.
Instead, we need to prioritize. I’ve been amazed as to how much progress I can help my clients achieve by assessing their situation and recommending priorities based upon what’s most critical to achieving the top company objectives.

For example, I helped a company who was struggling with a recently implemented ERP system to assess where to focus attention in order to rapidly restore service levels. Since there were thousands of issues to address (which can be common with system implementations), it became a real challenge for those fighting daily fires to climb out. In another example, I helped a company who struggled with lead times assess their supply chain network to determine which of the many potential process improvements to begin with in order to have the most significant and quickest impact.

3. Plan & Execute – Although vital to success, I find that my clients who do an effective job of organizing and prioritizing are twice as likely to have a playbook and are successful in achieving the touchdown when they need it. Yet the reminder is always welcome: Plan the work. Work the plan. As easy as these sounds, it is not often done. You can stand out in the crowd simply by developing a plan and executing the plan. Follow up and follow through.
I’ve consistently seen these top strategies “work”. They don’t require a degree from Harvard or vast resources and capital to implement. What’s holding you back from “blocking and tackling” in order to ensure success in the New Year?

© Lisa Anderson 2012. All rights reserved.

How can we not only “get through” today’s new normal business environment but THRIVE? In my 20+ years of experience as both an Operations Executive and as an entrepreneur and business consultant who has worked with multiple companies ranging from start-ups to multi-billion dollar enterprises across varied industries and geographies, there are a few common keys to success. One of them is to leverage trends. Watch for key trends, spot changes or deviations and adjust and/or leverage these hidden opportunities – long before your competition even sees them coming.

Thus, my focus is on partnering with my clients to take advantage of this often overlooked strategy and deliver bottom line results. As I recently returned from speaking at and attending the Association of Operations Management (APICS) International Conference and had lengthy discussions with a book editor on these topics, I thought it was a good time to highlight the latest supply chain trends. The top few include: 1) Demand driven MRP. 2) Supply chain risk. 3) Supply chain sustainability. 3) Supply chain fundamentals.

1. Demand Driven MRP – A game changer! Let’s start with the basics – this is the new, fancy name for what I’ve always found to be the optimal yet often controversial solution for optimizing inventory planning results – reducing inventory levels, improving service levels, increasing operational efficiencies, reducing multi-level bill of material complexity, etc. It supports what is obvious to exceptional inventory planners – traditional planning methods don’t work (MRP). If that wasn’t bad enough, even the “latest and greatest” concepts don’t work: TOC (theory of constraints) and Lean.
Instead, demand driven MRP is a combination of MRP, Lean and TOC, and it “works”. Yet no system supports it fully, which is why it is often times extremely controversial. In my early days, I was thrown out of meetings and even roles for speaking a bit too loudly on this topic. Could I really be saying that I wanted to perform a critical function with Excel or Access (only utilizing system data) instead of fully utilizing a multi-million dollar system? I must be insane!

Imagine how excited I was when I saw a name and process put to what “works”! There’s no doubt – if you’re interested in results, use logic for inventory planning (demand driven MRP). My track record speaks for itself – consistent 50%+ reductions in inventory levels, dramatically improved service levels to the high 90%’s, improved operational efficiencies etc.

2. Supply chain risk – Supply chain risk has skyrocketed in the last several years. We’ve extended our supply chains. Gone global. Added complexity. Experienced natural disasters. Had conflicts (ports, wars, etc.). Suffered dramatic swings in currencies. Seen increased regulation. It has become a staggering effort to minimize and mitigate supply chain risk yet it’s vital to success. Those who figure out how to simplify profitably and mitigate supply chain risk will have the opportunity to leapfrog their competition in the new normal business environment.

3. Supply chain sustainability – My alma mater (UNC) is a leader in this field, which isn’t surprising as UNC is an innovator and ahead of the curve with leading-edge topics. Although I view much of this topic as common sense (again combining what makes sense of best practice manufacturing concepts, lean, green, etc.), there is an increased interest and heightened awareness in today’s new normal business environment as it achieves the triple bottom line – people, planet and profit.

4. Fundamentals - I typically stick with 3 core points; however, this one is too important to overlook – those companies who block and tackle better than their competition will outpace their competition and grow market share when everyone else struggles to remain flat – or even in business at all.

Think about how these trends impact your business. Since my brothers used to be heavily involved in ice hockey, one of my favorite analogies becomes applicable here: How can you skate to where the puck is going instead of skating to where it is?

© Lisa Anderson 2011. All rights reserved.

Does your company have effective inventory management policies? It can make a significant differences to not only your cash flow but also your customer service and productivity. I’ve worked with many businesses across multiple industries and geographies to implement best practices in inventory management. All-in-all, it boils down to a few keys to success. To hear more about these inventory managment strategies, listen to my video – click here.

© Lisa Anderson 2011. All rights reserved.