FACILITATING EXCELLENCE

In my experience of the distribution trade, the points of negotiation or trade-offs between the customers and suppliers are invariably one of the following Diversity (width of SKU’s) Delivery (time) Discrepancy (accuracy in order execution) Discount (price negotiation) Let me elucidate each of these trade-offs and the interplay of negotiations which the entities concerned engage in. Diversity (width of SKU’s) The larger the SKU’s maintained at the supplier (distributor), the better is his ability to have a higher first fill ratio (FFR) w.r.t. to order of the customer. This creates a situation whereby the customer perceives the supplier to be reliable & well stocked. The offshoot of this is the scenario where supplier creates barriers to switching for the customer on account of better order servicing. Customers, on the other hand, are happy because their business downstream is addressed appropriately.

The other day, I was reading a message on my mobile which went like “… 20 years back, a man would walk 20 minutes to save Rs. 20/-. Today, a man spends Rs. 20/- to save 20 minutes…”. At first glance nothing seemed unusual about this but then the profoundness of the message dawned over. The pace of life and the things which counted highly then, have changed. Were we looking at a new currency of trading? Were we beginning to finally act in spirit of the famous phrase “Time is Money”? As I pondered over this message and analysed my life in this context, I realized I was anyways acting in the spirit of this famous phrase. So what really has shaped our behavior? I think it’s a multiplicity of factors.   The multiplicity of choices before us. A toothpaste meant Colgate, detergent meant Surf, cooking oil meant Dalda… for those of us who have been witness to such an era will vastly appreciate the plethora of choices we have now. A toothpaste has moved from just bein

You join a new organization.. new people, new processes, new culture.. you are treading very slowly. People are unhappy with you   but they don’t tell you. Your line  manager knows your work and it seems they are happy with it. So you start getting comfortable. And suddenly your manager,   your colleagues, your reports turn around and say. – All is well but we are sorry, we don’t like your work. As an employee you are confused. You think hard you go back to your review and think, how come, why was I not told, why was I not made aware? It was a matter of simply telling me, that I was going off track. Then you start to see the signs. People talking in hushed tones, waiting for you to leave the room, ensuring that things are not said in your presence. Why did you overlook them? It was probably because I wanted to fit in.   I wanted to fit in so badly, that I chose to ignore all signs that told me that my current approach was not working. So what now? You have received a feedback …

Distribution networks…the Jugaad way The basics of management state that no matter how good /gold standard the quality of the product, its relevance to the marketplace (consumers), the communication strategy, the pricing, the biggest stumbling block at times turns out to be the distribution network. At the risk of placing the various factors determining the success of a brand in the marketplace, ‘distribution’ should be the first among the equals. The textbooks propagate lucidly various distribution models and most of them have tasted success in the marketplace. These models are conventional in nature and approach wherein and whereby they lay out a mechanism (road map) for the brand to reach from the plant to the consumer often denominated by people / institutions. They are clearly identifiable, have specific responsibilities and spheres of influence and often perform their chores along the dotted lines. Challenges arise when conventional road maps for distribution plann

It is simply impossible to work alone. We can live alone, eat alone, but working. I can say for myself. I need people around me. Rightly so I am the People Manager in a Social Work Organization. I genuinely believe that 'Saathi haath badhana saathi re' does create a sense of joint effort.  What Am I saying; any day it’s better to do things ourselves rather than to involve someone. With the kind of effort it takes for us to train someone to get a work done I think it will just make the life easier to do it all by ourselves rather than attempt to make others understand our style or to adapt their styles. This is the dilemma I see myself in everyday now a days. I do try to separate myself in a team that I work with and at the same time I also try to work together with them. Working together is the only way I believe I can work productively. However sometimes or most of the times the behavior, dynamics, attitudes in the team make it very difficult to work.  Just the other

As the name of my post suggests that this is all about Moving into an unknown territory, challenging yourself. Recently I took on an assignment  which though has a certain level of familiarity but requires me very often to revisit my thinking, my challenges and my age old beliefs. I have often found myself questioning myself. and recently I attended an event which shook my confidence completely. On the way back I kept thinking how to get my confidence back, what should  I do to make myself more confident and less vulnerable. It had taken a lot of encouragement from lot of corners to help me over come my fears. But I also realised after a point of time you are on your own. No one has the time and/or energy to act as a sounding board. Everyone is fighting their own battles so looking outside for encouragement is an expectation which is bound to fail. Its just that I need to take life in my own hands. Come back every time I think I am thrown off course. Plus I also have this very str

Many of us are faced with situations wherein we find ourselves struggling to arrive at a decision…we see ourselves in a state of indecision. Personally, I have been in such state a couple of times. Being in this state has caused me botheration because it neither allows me to move forward nor backward….confines me to a state of limbo, a state of vegetation (sic). Given my own personal viewpoint on this, what surprises me, is the zone of comfort which people can enjoy while being in a state of indecision. This has often intrigued me… I mean what makes people live in this state, survive and at times even thrive. My observation has driven me to certain viewpoints on this which is as follows: There are some people who, when faced with tough situations, requiring firm decisions, resulting in resolute actions, develop cold feet. They would often create a mini parliament around them, look for voice votes and then get further confused with fractured verdicts. Th