Supply Chain Process Creation & Management
For supply chain integration to work, the external processes needed are exactly the same as the internal ones.
At Mediafleet, the team has an almost innate ability to integrate within a supply chain. To be honest we are rarely the lead instigator (although on occasion we have been – see previous article), but we adopt the same approach to the process across each supply chain – Create, Implement, Asses and Modify. These procedures encompass the process management from inception to project/ relationship end.
Create
From inception, a set of initial procedures or tasks is required for the execution of the contract. Plus, in addition, the processes need to take account of stakeholder structures, practises, KPI’s, and policies in order to meet the customer objectives. In short, the process involves:
- Define and really understand the customer objectives
- Define and really understand key stakeholder objectives
- Define and really understand key stakeholder shortcomings (if any)
- Create the processes to meet the objectives considering any stakeholder issues
- Create and agree the process specifications
- Perform value analysis to identify means for cost reduction without compromising quality
- Discuss and agree the created process with key stakeholders within the supply chain
Implement
Once the creation of the process has been completed, implementation across and within the supply chain follows. At this stage vigilance and diligence is required in terms of goals and KPI adherence. Non-conformity at this stage will lead to the execution of the next stage (see Assess section below).
- Quality – Insist on quality standards at all stages of your supply chain responsibility. Any non-conformity should be dealt with at once. Assign responsibility to errors to reduce repetition. This will immediately reduce costs and increase efficiencies leading to the competitive advantage the customer is expecting. This Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) should be followed by an investigation to understand ‘root cause’.
- Visibility – Ensure the entire operation is as visual as possible. At Mediafleet, this includes information screens with workload, quality, productivity and other performance information in key areas such as operations and production. Daily reporting on key tasks. Stakeholder information delivery against desired schedules etc.
- Organisation, Staffing and Training – including reporting regimes are defined. Contingency in case of sickness is created to maintain adequate staffing to meet stakeholder targets
- Measurement and Review – Use data to evaluate process performance. Review this regularly and publicly. Post needed actions and progress reports.
Assess and Improve the Process
Changing process elements to attain levels of performance superior to what has been accomplished in the past is a key strategic business target.
This is a ‘process within a process’ whereby senior management within Mediafleet:
Look at the targets set against results attained. Measure the performance within each division or business section against baseline expectations. Discuss ways to improve efficiencies and reliabilities.
Improve the Process and implement specific changes. Then cycle the above activities to ensure continual improvement.
Modify
This may be controversial but at Mediafleet we find that slight modifications of supply chain management enable us to meet customer and stakeholder expectations for NEW projects more easily, quickly and reliably. It’s not a case of ‘one size fits all’ but why re-invent the wheel when a particular process has been proven to work on countless occasions. In most cases minor tweaks are sufficient to meet customer and stakeholder expectations. I understand that in manufacturing environments where products can be wildly different from one project to the next, that this will not work. At Mediafleet, our service environment and key stakeholder relationships rarely change.
In Summary
At Mediafleet, operational processes and systems are a formidable array of tools for process creation, management and improvement. These are ‘data-based’ methods for measurement and improvement and encourage a desire to ‘go the extra mile’.
