In this episode of What the Duck?! Sarah Scudder, sits down with a panel of industry experts as they share their experiences and insights into the complex world of supply chain management. They discuss various challenges, including disruptions, manufacturing changes, and supplier surprises, shedding light on the importance of proactive communication and change management. Lindsay Smith, Roz Lowe, Tim Wise and Mike Romeyn provide a candid look behind the scenes of production meetings, where teams strategize to meet customer commitments, even in the face of unexpected obstacles. The speakers also touch on the significance of maintaining humility, gratitude, and customer advocacy in the niche markets of manufacturing. Learn valuable lessons and real-world stories from the front lines of supply chain management from the experts themselves. 

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

The Critical Importance of On-Time Delivery as a Top KPI 

Impacts that Big Disruptions Have on Organizations 

The Vital Role of Customer Service Advocacy 

Risks Associated with Suppliers Making Unnotified Manufacturing Changes

The Importance of Having a Supplier Change Notification Process in Place

Challenges Associated When Faced with Missing Customer Commitments

Quoting Complex Assemblies Gone WRONG

MOMENTS TO DUCK AROUND

LINDSAY: On Root Causes of Late or Missed Deliveries 

“Each buyer had nuances of different ways of doing their job day-to-day. So, the fix was certainly uncovering the hidden issue was great employee coaching, team or retraining around, especially around purchase order confirmation, treating that as a separate process step, and then having direct conversations offline with supplier management and saying, 'Hey, great that you have this partnership with our buyers. You have a second relationship and obligation to supply chain management, and you have to come to us and be open and tell us when things aren't going the way you want them to.'"

MIKE: Dealing with Obvious Problems During Weekly Production Meetings

“I would sit in these meetings, the buyers would, you know, obviously run through their spreadsheets, they would have their open order reports, if you want to call them, with their suppliers, and they would just show us, okay, and they sorted it by late, and we would just go line by line, what are we doing, what are we doing, what are we going to do to get the part, what are we going to do, are we going to start expediting, throwing dollars at it, are we going to fly that material over here? I mean, that's the kind of strategic… again, reactive mode, but we're throwing money at the problem just to get the material in-house, so we can meet customer expectations.?

ROZ: On the Importance of Customer Advocacy 

“So this company got very used to being spoiled, I guess you could say. And they lost sight of their customer-advocating, you know, personality. They lost their humble, and which is what it takes to start a business. You know, when you start a business, you first get into the industry, any industry for that matter, you've got to have humble, or you're not going to go very far, you're not going to get started. So, anyways, this company, they lost their humble, and the customers all pounded their fist on the desks, and they complained and complained, and they went to the primes and said, 'Look at how we're being treated.' And you know, it takes a lot to get a company like, say, for example, Boeing, to change a blueprint or frozen planning, right? That's like a miracle.”

Connect with Lindsay and learn what he’s been duckin’ around with:

Lindsay Smith | Insight

Connect with Tim and learn what he’s been duckin’ around with:

Tim Wise | Tight Lines Consulting 

Connect with Mike and learn what he’s been duckin’ around with:

Mike Romeyn | SourceDay

Connect with Roz and learn what she’s been duckin’ around with:

Roz Lowe | Delta Hi-Tech

Connect with Sarah and find out more about what the duck she’s up to

LinkedIn |Twitter |SourceDay |SourceDay.com

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