Creating a Culture of “Pull”

Creating a Culture of “Pull”

By Mark Preston

A wise Sensei once told me that the phrase “Supply Chain” has a deeper meaning than just the linkage of products to the Customer. When you hear “Supply Chain”, think more about linkage, and pull. If you put a chain necklace flat on a wooden table and you pushed one end of the chain with your finger, what would happen to the chain? It would probably bunch up in different sections and lose a clear direction of where it should go. If you pulled one end of the chain, what would happen? It would follow your pull, straighten itself from your pull and have a clear direction of where to go. Is this any different than a company’s supply chain?

When I see the bunching up of a chain, I think about waste created from push. In our chain from Customer back to Supplier, we have seen waste created when we push something to a customer. These wastes include Defects, Over Production, Waiting, Non-utilized people, Transportation, Inventory, Motion and Extra Processing. Creation of Pull is a key ingredient of continuous improvement. The number one lean principle is “Value in the eyes of the Customer”. Pull starts with identifying what the Customer wants. These wants can be met through our Products, Processes and People. Products that provide differentiated solutions that “WOW” our customers, processes that are robust, accountable and provide world class service, quality and delivery, people that are committed to customers and have a desire to improve themselves and the world around them.

Why do we start strengthening the linkage on the plant floor and fail to adequately strengthen the other links in the chain?

Reasons:

• Value is easier to identify in a visual way on the plant floor.
• Most employees work on the plant floor.
• Most lean experience is written about and demonstrated on the plant floor.
• Improvement is easier to measure on the plant floor. (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Productivity, Cost)

The results are often incredible but leave companies wondering why they continue to not meet their expectations. I would submit that an incredibly strong plant floor chain leaves the links at either end weak or susceptible to breakage. Michael Bremer describes this in his book “Escaping the Improvement Trap”. Companies become one-dimensional and cannot escape the one chain loop that they have created.

What are the ways in which each link can create pull?

The Plant floor link can create pull by differentiating itself in metrics such as:

• Excellent Quality – Industry Best Quality Products
• Excellent Delivery – Delivering When? On-Time, Where? The customer’s Choice, How? Differentiated Packaging and Installation.
• Excellent Cost – Value that Exceeds Customers’ Expectations or Value Added that cannot be found elsewhere.
• Team Member Engagement – How are you creating Pull through Team Member Engagement?

The Sales link can create pull by:

• Creating a Valuable Relationship with their customers that can be trusted like family.
• Giving Valuable Expertise that improves the Customers faith in their supplier to be the best.

The Customer Service Link can create pull by:

• Correcting any problem immediately and becoming an extension of the Customers team.

The Supplier Link can create pull by:

• Communicating in real time for better reaction to the future.
• Developing New Products for the company by using the core competency of the hundreds of suppliers in the company’s supply chain
• Creating relationships with the supplier for suggestions
• Creating differentiated Quality, Delivery, and Cost by becoming preferred by the supplier over other competitors that the supplier services.

The Supplier becomes an extension of the company, and they see themselves as part of your company. They initiate value for your company to be even more successful.

The question comes back, are you creating pull or are you pushing? No matter where you work as a leader create pull.

How can I help you?

I hope you enjoyed the article, and it brought a smile to your face. Please comment and share, I would like to hear your thoughts. Have a great week! Please reach out if you need help developing leadership and engagement at your company.

I specialize in:

• Monthly Leadership Coaching
• Rattlesnake Hunt Engagement
• Strategic Planning Workshops
• Value Stream Mapping Workshops
• Lean Certification
• Lean Assessment and Lean Journey Development

Have a great week!

Mark

Mark Preston

[email protected]

[email protected]