Management

Management (244)

Pursuing Change

changeWhat is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “change”? For many of us, words like “anxious”, “overwhelmed”, or “unknown” pop into our head. Why is it that changes and transitions bring on so much negative energy? One hypothesis is that we may be wired to fear change. Imagine our ancestors in nomadic times as they assessed their surroundings for any sign of change and possible danger, as the two most often went hand-in-hand. Perhaps our DNA is to blame for associating “same” with safety and “change” with danger.

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That Darn UOM Problem

thumb UOM image 1I’ve made a lot of friends in my consulting travels, some of whom keep in touch by running various business problems by me. I received a note from one of my old contacts the other day that read like this: Read more...

Your Own Horror Story; How to Avoid It

EDI END 07 SABCAYou've read all five of my horror stories and I hope you've thought about your own business, and to make sure everything is in order. Are all of your systems running as efficiently and as smoothly as you would like? Are there areas that you now see could be a weak spot, areas that you should take a second look at? That's where your thoughts should be leading you at this point. Read more...

Customers Are Not Always Right - Until They Stop Being Customers

EDI STORIES 05 SABCAI was called in to facilitate a confidential EDI productivity meeting with a group of senior management officers from various medium size companies. The meeting was great, right up to the point that I uncovered an alarming similarity. It would seem, at first glance anyway, that these companies had little in common. Each of these companies operated in very different fields. Each one had very different operating budgets, and they all were working hard to meet very different goals. What they did all have in common was a very similar problem. Read more...

Ignore That Deadline - It Won't Hurt

thumb What You Dont Know Will Hurt YouA distribution company called me in to do a review of their EDI processes, and look for things that they might be doing wrong. The review was just a precaution. However, since the distribution company was doing well, they assumed that everything was going along smoothly as far as their EDI was concerned. Read more...

Outsmarting EDI's Built In Processes - Priceless

thumb Outsmarting YourselfThere's a recurring problem here as you may already be picking up on. Problems start small and get out of hand quickly. My next horror story takes place at a mid sized manufacturing company, whose problems snuck up on them when they least expected it. This company was sitting on top of the world. They had prepared themselves for EDI problems. They had done their research, and heard the other horror stories. They decided to take matters into their own hands, and circumvent their own technology in an attempt to "beat" any EDI problems that might arise. Read more...

Just Ignore the Problem - Your Company Will Go Away

thumb Costly DiscoveryPicture if you will, a small record company. The company was beside themselves with joy, with one of their biggest clients being a huge retail store. This was a high volume client, and the company was over the moon with joy to have such a huge customer account, especially since they were just a small business. A cloud gathers over the Accounts Receivable department and their mood darkens as they begin to notice a problem. Read more...

Cash Flow Disaster - How Would You Fix It?

thumb Cash Flow DisasterMy first horror story is about a company much like any other. A mid sized supplier; not at all out of the ordinary. The company had (or at least THOUGHT they had) a great EDI program that they had implemented, and things were going well. They were ahead of the game, using EDI when many other companies hadn't yet taken the leap. At first glance, things seemed to be going well. Customer demand was high, orders were coming in left and right, and shipments were up from the previous year. It was a time of great celebration, especially in such a rough economy. Things were looking good for these folks. Read more...

Tales of Horror - 5 Ways to Kill Your Business

Cecil introduces EDI horror storiesIf you're reading this you already know that EDI is no longer an option, it is an integral part of doing business with your trading partners. Besides that, if it weren't practically required, I would have been out of work a long time ago. Even so, not every participant in the supply chain believes that the days of paper invoices, phone orders, and human interaction to complete daily tasks has been relegated to the 8-track tape days. In the best environments, everything is automated, and computer to computer transmission of information is commonplace. Read more...

Interpersonal Skills and You

OfficePlease hold for a scene from the movie The Office “What would you say ya do here?”

Tom: “Well look, I already told you! I deal with the goddamn customers so the engineers don't have to! I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?” Read more...

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