do with this and what your objectives are? Why are you
even thinking about outsourcing?” Really, the first step is
understanding who you are as a company and what your
objectives are.
Another key is getting as many people as possible within the organization involved in the process. There again, I
see people that want to outsource, and they start down
that path but with minimal or no involvement from people in human resources or IT or finance or sales and marketing. To me, that is a mistake. You get those people
involved from day one and your solution can be so much
better.
QWhat are the next steps?
A Another key part is communications. Remember, you cannot overcommunicate. I’m a believer in communicating in a variety of ways: via phone, via text, via e-mail,
via printed material. As you do that, you will be amazed.
You have to kind of chuckle, “My goodness, I’ve said that to
you, shared that with you six times and you are just now
hearing it?” Because that is how we all are.
When you go to select a third party, another key consideration is the culture and cultural fit. That’s probably
the most important factor. You can teach anybody a technical process, but if there isn’t a cultural fit, the result is
not going to be as good as it could be. Part of that is asking questions that you might not typically think of. You
need to be asking more of the “soft stuff” to understand
the organization from a cultural standpoint and again,
getting people involved in that process. It shouldn’t be a
one-person process. You should have other people visit
the facility.
QAnd the next step?
A The next step concerns the implementation process. It’s an area that I think a lot of people take pretty
lightly. They need to have a plan that everybody can rally
around and agree upon.
The final step is maximizing the results. Now that you
have this partner, you really need to consider it an extension of your company and treat it just as you would someone within your organization. You need to share your
expectations. You need to train. You need to have ongoing
contact and communication with them, and you need to
celebrate successes. I am a big believer in that.
QWhat advice would you offer a young person considering a career in logistics and supply chain
management?
A Be actively involved and always give. When you give of yourself, you will be amazed at what comes back. ;
