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In today’s digital age, email has become an invaluable tool for businesses worldwide. From long-distance communication to document sharing, the power of email is undeniable. As such, it is no surprise that organizations involved in the supply chain have taken advantage of this technology to help increase efficiency and effectiveness. Email provides a valuable and convenient way for companies to communicate with their suppliers, customers and partners.
Email communication is becoming increasingly important in the global supply chain, and yet many companies still struggle to effectively incorporate it into their operations. Email offers tremendous potential for companies to drive greater efficiency and collaboration across the entire supply chain, but only if it is used correctly. This article will explore how businesses can leverage the power of email to improve their supply chain performance, including increased communication, improved data analysis and enhanced customer service.
Email And Empowerment In Supply Chain
I am fed up with a lot of organizations.
Is it just me?
Do others find too many simple basic mistakes are being made these days by organizations? These mistakes are also repeated many times and do not seem to get corrected.
Why is this?
One of my theories is that email is the means to create mistakes whilst the expected result is empowerment.
Let me amplify.
These days the external connection is possible to most internal levels within an organization.
The power of the internet can deliver messages to anyone.
Those receiving emails are now able to handle and deal directly with customer requests. And “empowerment” will also enable decision-making at any level.
People are now therefore able to take decisions and deal directly with queries.
Now clearly there are numerous advantages to this, but there are some disadvantages also.
I fear that these disadvantages may be getting camouflaged and disguised by the use of emails and by the aura of empowerment.
It is fine allowing decisions to be taken at low levels, but these have to be correct ones and have to be taken responsibly. They can now also be taken invisibly to senior management.
Therefore when decisions are wrong, the consequences may not be apparent. The result can then be a spiral of confusion and frustration.
Those on the receiving end may have little chance for recourse or correction of handed-down decisions that have been wrongly taken (and effectively taken sub-optimally).
Another result is that some customers at the receiving end will “walk,” others will complain to “deaf ears,” and some may report their displeasure to senior management; however senior management may be dismissive as “we do not have this problem with others”.
The fact about the Empowerment In Supply Chain is they do have problems, but it has become invisible to senior management who in their desire to empower junior staff, have made themselves separate from what is really going on in the organization.
How do we prevent this?
Simply by returning to a principle of management visibility good managers are supposed to keep kept their fingers on the pulse. Requests from and responses to customers should be seen. Support and guidance should be given to junior staff when required.
Why cannot this be done? Why do we allow email to “bypass” such best practices?
It now seems with email and empowerment, that whilst the “e” can certainly stand for efficiency, it does not always stand for effectiveness.
Efficiency is however found Empowerment In Supply Chain as messages are quickly dealt with, however non effectiveness is found as the correct result does not always follow. So we are maybe doing the right things, but we are not always doing it right.
But worst of all, what is being done may be invisible to those who can change things. However, it is clearly visible to those customers who walk.
Is it just me who is fed up?
