Managing change has always been difficult and will always be fraught with danger because it is so easy to introduce change the wrong way. So the logical question to ask is if there is a perfect way to introduce and manage change.

Outsourcing the logistics operation to a third-party logistics provider is nothing new and it makes a lot of sense. If you are good at manufacturing something, you are not necessarily good at running a distribution and logistics operation. So you give it to somebody who has specialised in doing so and who can do it at a more attractive cost whilst achieving a consistently high service level.

GOOD – CHEAP – FAST – FLEXIBLE – SCALABLE.

We know what the customer wants, so we have to find a way of delivering a good, cheap, and fast service, which will not only keep the customer happy, but also be profitable for the service provider. To achieve this, the picking operation requires constant positive and constructive attention. Simply demanding more of the picking operatives and hiring the cheapest people is not enough and will not sustain the business in the long run.

 

 

What a bizarre thing to suggest, right? Everybody knows that you cannot get somebody else to do your golf swing. Anyone who has ever set a goal and achieved it will testify that you need to take responsibility for achieving the goal and then put in the effort. Standard stuff, nothing new there. So, if you want to improve your golf and your swing is wrong, you practice more, hire a coach perhaps, anything you think will help you improve. Handing your swing to somebody else to improve for you is just ludicrous.

Think of the road network as a production line. Before you get into your car to go to work you are the equivalent of raw material. Once in your car and out on the road you have become WIP (work in progress). When you arrive at your place of work your status has changed to FG (finished goods). Once inside, depending on your job, status, mood, etc. you go to the customer adding value or you go to the FG warehouse collecting dust hoping for someone to buy you.