Burning issues for Supply Chain Managers
There are several burning issues that plague Supply Chain managers. Customer Service, Management of associated risks, Costs, Supplier Relationships, Talent and Supply /Production/logistics delays.
We will now tackle them individually and try to find solutions.
Customer Service
Customer service should be the cornerstone of your supply chain. With the world becoming a global village, we are now not competing on price, or product differentiation but on the service, you can offer your customer. It’s now not all about providing the right quantity of the right product at the quality, in the right place and at the right time only anymore. It’s about the added support services that you can offer as all others are now standard.
Customer service is now a means for competitive advantage- Customer customization.
Know your Customer. Every customer is different, and they have different needs. If you approach them with the mentality of ‘one size fits all’ a decline in your sales is inevitable. Knowing your customer, the market they are in and who they serve can only work for your advantage. It will help you pre-empt any changes in their market that may affect their sales/services and in turn what they order from you.
Invite your customers to rate or give feedback on the services you provide. Keep a log to record any patterns so they can be dealt with promptly and stop recurrence. When customers feel like they are being heard, they are more likely to stay through the hard times because they know any challenges will be dealt with.
Invest in your Customers- Customer Development.
Developing your customer is also another way to ensure sustainable growth for your business. When there are inefficiencies in your customers business that you can help improve or any opportunities of vertical integration of information to increase synergies -use them. When they grow, you grow. When you develop your customers, you ensure you have multiple high value revenue streams as opposed to a few customers having the balance of power. Countless businesses have gone under because one customer went under. Investing in this way, will assist with information gathering in the market your customer services. We all know that information is gold in business.
Remember the small things matter. The behaviour you think is standard everywhere – well it’s not. Stuff like informing your customer of any delays in time for them to find alternatives or make alternative arrangements or just that they are informed. Remember what works for customer A may not work For Customer B.
There are several burning issues that plague Supply Chain managers. Customer Service, Management of associated risks, Costs, Supplier Relationships, Talent and Supply /Production/logistics delays.
We will now tackle them individually and try to find solutions.
Customer Service
Customer service should be the cornerstone of your supply chain. With the world becoming a global village, we are now not competing on price, or product differentiation but on the service, you can offer your customer. It’s now not all about providing the right quantity of the right product at the quality, in the right place and at the right time only anymore. It’s about the added support services that you can offer as all others are now standard.
Customer service is now a means for competitive advantage- Customer customization.
Know your Customer. Every customer is different, and they have different needs. If you approach them with the mentality of ‘one size fits all’ a decline in your sales is inevitable. Knowing your customer, the market they are in and who they serve can only work for your advantage. It will help you pre-empt any changes in their market that may affect their sales/services and in turn what they order from you.
Invite your customers to rate or give feedback on the services you provide. Keep a log to record any patterns so they can be dealt with promptly and stop recurrence. When customers feel like they are being heard, they are more likely to stay through the hard times because they know any challenges will be dealt with.
Invest in your Customers- Customer Development.
Developing your customer is also another way to ensure sustainable growth for your business. When there are inefficiencies in your customers business that you can help improve or any opportunities of vertical integration of information to increase synergies -use them. When they grow, you grow. When you develop your customers, you ensure you have multiple high value revenue streams as opposed to a few customers having the balance of power. Countless businesses have gone under because one customer went under. Investing in this way, will assist with information gathering in the market your customer services. We all know that information is gold in business.
Remember the small things matter. The behaviour you think is standard everywhere – well it’s not. Stuff like informing your customer of any delays in time for them to find alternatives or make alternative arrangements or just that they are informed. Remember what works for customer A may not work For Customer B.
