Possible vs Not Possible

I met my global strategy group in Portugal recently and fit in a vacation in Portugal as well as short stints in Ireland and Germany on the way in and out of Europe. In addition to absolutely beautiful scenery such as the Heidelberg castle at night (pictured below), what stands out was a comment our English Heidelberg tour guide made about Americans vs Germans: Americans believe in what is possible, whereas the Germans tend to respond with “That is not possible”.

Although it was funny, we realized that he was correct. Later at Frankfurt airport, the guy at the desk refused to allow my friend to ask a question in response to his question. Instead, he kept saying “yes or no”. It is not possible to ask a clarifying question. Nothing like a vacation to be reminded of the value of “the possible”.

Believing in What Is Possible

I would never be in consulting if I listened to people who said, “That is not possible”. As a young female in manufacturing, there were countless people who didn’t think it was possible to become a VP of Operations and Supply Chain, yet it occured. As a person with zero sales experience, there were plenty of doubters who thought it was not possible to build a successful consulting practice, yet it happened. In fact, the best advice I gained from my parents was to believe in myself regardless of what anyone says. It is always possible.

Manufacturing Success Spurred by Believing in the Possible

Our best clients believe in what is possible. For example, an executive at an engineer-to-order (ETO) industrial equipment manufacturer wanted to gain predictable revenue fulfillment in an environment epitomized by the lack of data integrity and integrated systems. He thought a good way to ensure this objective would be to pursue a digitial transformation with advanced planning processes to gain visibility earlier in the process and prepare the team with the appropriate resources and capabilities to execue plans successfully. No matter the issue thrown at him, he believed in what was possible.

He brought on supply chain consultants who rolled out SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning) processes to successfully navigate changing conditions while gaining significant visibility to better support sales in a more efficient and profitable fashion. However, before they could fully utilize SIOP, demand planning process improvements had to be rolled out to better capture a realistic picture of quotes, likely timing for conversion into sales orders, and most importantly, which product attirbutes would be required. Thus, lead times could be estimated and Purchasing and Operations teams could prepare in advance. In addition, sales and operations systems had to be connected so that order and project status traceability could occur from design and production engineering to operations, outside processing and final assembly process steps.

We shored up data integrity rapidly by digging into the meaning of key data, adding key process steps as needed, connecting and analyzing data, and utilizing artificial intelligence type capabilities to shore up key fields. The team decided how to optimize the use of the CRM (customer relationship management), CPQ (configure price quote), ERP (enterprise resource planning), MRP (material requirements planning), and business intelligence (BI) systems to further enhance visibility and ensure successful fulfillment of demand. Not only did revenue plans become predictable but the process and system upgrades enabled the company to grow rapidly during the pandemic, secure supplies of key materials sourced from countries in war zones, and dramatically reduce inventory levels while maintaining customer lead times and service levels to free up cash flow. While other companies struggled, we were able to gain significant marketshare opportunities and achieve predictable profit.

Leaders Create Winning Teams by Believing in the Possible

An aerospace and defense executive believed in what is possible. Since this time period followed 9/11 when A&D companies struggled with low volumes and margins, you had to be better than good to grow market share and profits. They had a competitive advantage in the aerospace market through a combination of extensive, high-performance material inventory, specialized, value-added processing services, and a global, strategically located and integrated, supply chain network. Thus, they had to ensure superior service and top performance to maintain momentum throughout challenges and volatility.

Each General Manager was evaluated on his/her facility’s performance while servicing customer needs successfully and quickly. Thus, each leader wanted to ensure a full assortment of inventory, and they preferred the high-margin jobs. Thus, there was not an incentive to share inventory and allocate needs to increase overall performance. The A&D executive wanted to keep the P&L focus for each of his leaders while ensuring customer success, supporting growth and increasing working capital. Instead of believing these goals were in conflict with each other, he believed in what is possible. More importantly, he conveyed this belief in what is possible.

The executive team communicated the desire to achieve a supply chain transformation, provided resources to support the initiatives, and incentivized the teams to work collaboratively. The executive personally engaged with the Sales and Operations teams and participated in working sessions to communicate the importance. He promoted a key resource to facilitate inventory across sites and shored up this effort with an executive sponsor. The teams embraced the goals, shared inventory across their supply chain network, optimized jobs, and maximized manufacturing performance. The business grew, profits soared, and working capital increased.

Believe in the Possible

As volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) increase, leaders who embrace what is possible will succeed. Instead of looking for roadblocks and considering them insurmountable, look for options, alternate paths, and creative solutions. Believing in what’s possible will create exponential results.

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Using SIOP to Drive Revenue, Margin, & Working Capital Predictability & Improvement