Impacts beyond a disappointed customer:? When the operation frustrates the sales team.

Face it – sales drive business.? The role of sales is to leverage the capacity of any operation to effectively solve problems for customers.? The role of the operation is to make the sales team look like heroes and to be foundation on which the trust offered by sales is turned into the reality of the relationship.? Great concept in theory but in practice, we see problems that extend beyond a disappointed customer when the process goes wrong.

Let’s take a moment to look at how operational mistakes impact sales teams beyond disappointment.? Mistakes lead to costly reworks and increased transportation costs, lost opportunity for warehouse teams and more effort is put into fixing an old problem instead of delivering a new solution, inventory issues surrounding restocking, loss of reputation, and ultimately, if left unchecked, damage in the marketplace as competitors grow at your expense.? Marketplace damage is usually a harbinger of the dreaded decision to buy yourself back into a market – the ultimate insult to injury as you consider jettisoning margin dollars.

In the past week, we’ve seen the UAW strike, slumping steel prices, slower (and more expensive) housing starts, rising energy costs, and a slowing manufacturing cadence (especially in the Pacific Northwest).? Collectively, these take a tight and competitive market and make it even more sensitive to operational upsets.?

So, now what?

If ever there was an opportunity for management to connect sales and operations into a symbiotic relationship, it is now.? Production planning, maintenance planning, strategic CAPEX, audits, and training are critical right now to reduce operational friction to provide as smooth of a ramp as possible for sales.? Failing to hit the expectation set in the customers mind in a constricting or stagnate market is dangerous.? It doesn’t matter if you are starting from behind the 8-ball – the key is to start.

What does starting look like?

It looks like audits and data to start.? Find the gaps, prioritize the needs, and start to fill them.? Easy to say, hard to do…and expensive to do as well.? ?If you need someone to talk to - post a comment. This is a community of free support.

GEMBA walks – take your trusted advisors (customers, suppliers, your sales team, and others) and perform routine GEMBA walks to look for operational issues that can be tackled by your team.? Part lean and part safety, the GEMBA is designed to highlight opportunities for improvement.? Remember, investing time and effort in operations is an imperative to support the promise-making ability of your sales team.? If you want market or margin – you need to deliver on the promise.

What are you focusing on right now to connect sales to operations?

#sales #operationsmanagement #salesmanagement #GEMBA #lean