Planning, execution, both?

So, to deliver on the promise of Extreme Customer Service we probably all understand the need for good planning and also good execution (see the Logistically Speaking post of March 1st at http://flashlogistics.blogspot.com/). So what does that really mean? Let’s think about planning; is it an art, a science, or a little bit of both? My vote is that it is a little bit of both. I’ve seen it; lived and breathed it too.

I experienced the planning piece while working as an Inventory Planner and strategy analyst at a Fortune 100 office products company and then while working for the company that is now Click Commerce designing key components of the original version of their software and implementing it for their customers around the globe. The execution piece while working in the service parts logistics organizations at two large global companies, and most recently for third party logistics providers, now of course here at Flash Global Logistics.

Plan as we may, even when using some of the top notch planning and optimization tools on the market today, to the Service professional, when the rubber meets the road, technicians or customers need parts and they usually need them FAST. Gone are the days when a technician can break a service call for lack of a part and tell a customer they’ll be back in the morning to get the machine working again. That’s almost like saying “the check is in the mail”. And remember, when it’s time to renew an equipment lease or sign a new service contract, it’s the broken calls that customers remember – even more than the fact that the equipment needed service in the first place. Years ago I remember reading research that concluded that customers who received good service were actually more satisfied than customers who’s equipment never needed service at all, imagine that!

So, many companies with same day service agreements (like 2 hours, 4 hours, etc.) have taken the approach of positioning service parts within arm’s reach of their technicians at Forward Stocking Locations using service providers who can deliver them to customers in minutes / hours. Today, technicians can’t tell customers that they’ll be back tomorrow and have the machine up and running again after they finish their morning latte. That doesn’t sound right as I write it, and certainly doesn’t sound right at the customer site when their device is not working. OK, nobody ever says that to a customer, but what you say and what your customers hear are usually two different things; right? Remember, we’re talking about the promise of extreme customer service here….

To the service provider what is important are things like potentially not meeting service level agreements for lack of parts, technicians spending time to hook up with their buddies who may have the part they need, or a host of other non productive activities that could potentially happen and yet the service level agreement is not met anyway. What’s needed is intelligence in selecting where to put Forward Stocking Locations, what to put there and what to look for when picking a service provider to manage them. More on that in the next posting.

John Wild