What really hinders change? It’s not always the usual suspects of time, training, or incentives. It’s often deeper, lurking beneath the surface. We’ve witnessed first-hand how unearthing these hidden barriers can dramatically accelerate change efforts.
The distinction between treating symptoms and addressing root causes is critical. Often, businesses fall into the trap of firefighting—tackling issues as they arise without digging deeper to understand their origin.
Consider the case of a company struggling with declining customer satisfaction. The initial suspicion pointed towards last-mile delivery and customer service; however, a closer examination of the end-to-end supply chain revealed the true culprit: fundamental gaps in S&OP. Despite a proud claim by the COO of a 98.5% On-Time In-Full (OTIF) delivery rate, the company faced a 21% customer churn. How could this be, especially when product quality remained high and prices unchanged (only market-level inflationary correction)?
A thorough investigation uncovered that the dissatisfaction stemmed not from the product or service per se but from demand qualification and production scheduling. Orders frequently missed production schedules due to poorly detailed instructions, such as packaging requirements or delivery details. Expedite production and delivery led to inefficiencies across the supply chain while failing to meet customer expectations. System adjustments insufficiently captured the defects and forced planning changes.
Consequently, metrics did not communicate the right information; actual OTIF appeared to be 84% in stead of 98.5%, a painful explanation for the customer dissatisfaction and churn. It’s a classic issue: relying on the wrong data lead this organisation to astray.
The lessons? Metrics are crucial, but ensure they’re correctly tracked Look beyond the surface and traditional patterns to identify the real issues affecting your operation Involve ‘outsiders’ for fresh perspectives and effective solutions The real barriers to change are often hidden in plain sight, in the day-to-day operations.