It was month end and customer expected response for his next month’s production plan. This response though simple as it seemed took nearly 4 days. Our account manager’s laptop glitch, A Sunday in between, then first couple of days where our account managers are tied up in systemic issues like day wise plans, Sales Orders etc. Finally the customer received the inputs on the 3rd.
That made/makes me wonder that inspite of everyone’s best intentions the response was delayed. Many of us go through this unseen (by customers and within the organisation) pain as I would call it quiet regularly. As the organizations grow bigger, this appears to be the order of the day. What comes to the fore is:
- Laid down systems and processes need to be adhered to within specific time.
- Approvals need to be taken, especially on commercial matters, to avoid accounting and payment issues later.
- Queries for approvals need to be answered (with time taken for answers to be found) and mails moving back and forth on these queries with immediate decisiveness still far away.
- Each entity within the organization seems to have its own constraints.
- Certain systemic issues to complete a process have been missed out, causing delay.
- Operating level persons are unable to decide or have no authority to facilitate a quick customer response with approving authority being centralised. Means become important than ends.
- Majority of mails in the mail box are from within the organisation itself
Many years back a CEO/MD expressed regret to all, in his employee address that company had become inward looking. These 2 words made place in mind. No organization would like or accept delay in customer response, but it has now grown so big that the above situations either separately or together make decisiveness difficult and delay decisions. There also is no solution to this as to avoid anarchy systems, processes, checks and counter checks have to be put in place and then above, some way or the other is bound to happen.
It is this inward looking pain that large organizations may have to go through and continuously explore ways and means to reduce the same if not eliminate.