Unhappy with your current DC? Expanding to a new region?

Whatever your reason for wanting to open a new warehouse or distribution center, you know that the decision can’t be taken lightly… and 3PL providers don’t make it easy to do side-by-side comparisons of their services and prices. There is more to developing an analysis of the options than …Read More

In the previous blog article on Talent Management, we defined “Talent Management” as a set of integrated organizational Human Resource processes designed to attract, develop, motivate, and retain productive and engaged employees. The initial step in the overall Talent Management process is to determine the skills and competencies a person requires to be successful in a given role.

Most organizations use “skills and competencies” interchangeably and define them as: the knowledge, expertise and aptitude to do something well; the …Read More

Are you getting all you can from your best 3PL Warehouse Provider?

If you are using more than one 3PL warehouse provider and each one is a standalone partner, you may have opportunities to simplify day-to-day operations and maintain or reduce your SG&A costs, even if you expand your distribution network. Let me tell you a quick story. …Read More

The concept of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is not new and for many not a bit exciting. But, it is a critical part of the acquisition process and has been successfully used for the analysis of Information Technology and government procured products for many years. It is a mainstay of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). Yet, the concept of the Total Cost of Ownership hasn’t been universally adopted by middle market manufacturing and distribution companies as part of their standard Supply Chain Management Solutions. Middle market companies …Read More

Time based Key Performance Indicators provide significant insight to how quickly your organization responds to the needs of internal and external customers.  They tell a story that every leader needs to pay attention to.  Which of the following time based Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are being tracked in your company?

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Talent Management is a set of integrated organizational HR processes designed to attract, develop, motivate, and retain productive, engaged employees. The goal of talent management is to create a high-performance, sustainable organization that meets its strategic and operational goals and objectives. John Hopkins University

I particularly like this definition as it first focuses on the outcomes from productive and engaged employees.

This is the model I follow when helping organizations “think about their integrated organizational Human Resource processes.” Whether you have a robust Talent Management process or you randomly …Read More

In our earlier posts on Anti-Strategy—situations where well-intentioned employees act against company interests—we’ve explored various cause and effects. Today we consider the impact of poor communications on Anti-Strategy. “Do we need better communication around here?” The answer to that question is: It depends. Have you over-heard this common question (or complaint) lately? “Better communication” is the politically-correct solution of choice when “slip-ups” occur. “No one told me about that…”. …Read More

Many have long considered Continuous Improvement activities mostly relevant to manufacturing and related operational functions.

However, continuing competitiveness and growth in market share is built upon a steady, progressive march forward in all areas of a business. And since a company’s Market Effectiveness activities and functions (shown below) are the most market-oriented and customer-intimate parts of a business, effective Continuous Improvement efforts are …Read More

In our earlier posts on Anti-Strategy—situations wherein well-intentioned employees act against company interests—we’ve explored this all-too-common issue, some of its symptoms and how it shows up in various business functions. Today we consider the root cause: poor and/or untimely information availability and its damaging effect on a company’s culture. Absent information, particularly in a dynamic business environment, people tend to …Read More

In the Group50^® series on Anti-Strategy, we discuss how companies can unintentionally encourage well-meaning employees to act against their company’s best interests, whether through an unclear overall business strategy, a lack of information, or even badly designed sales compensation programs . In this series of blog posts, we’re going to address the question: How can businesses move from “Anti-Strategy” to “Actionable Strategy”? By “Actionable Strategy”, we don’t mean a strategy that lives in a PowerPoint presentation. We mean …Read More