Projects: Controlled Slippage

Katia and I wanted to talk to you about project management in this article: something near and dear to purchasing and supply chain, but the elements of project management methodologies - combined with our common sense - allow us to be effective and efficient in what we undertake. It’s a bit like a firefighter's driver's license: his job is to put out fires but knowing how to drive enables him to get to his destination faster.

Take a deep breath and read on…we are not going to talk to you about Gantt charts, budget management, earned value analysis or needs definition, but rather about controlled slippages thanks to adapted project management principles and tools. These principles and tools are not there to make the PMBoK even heavier or the PMP exam even more difficult: they are really useful in certain situations!

Here are some of our ‘drift’ experiences where application made things a lot easier…

Drift #1

When relocating spray detergent production lines to a low-cost country, the construction of large safety stocks was strongly advocated by the project team in order to cover several months of spray consumption.

Indeed, this project required quite substantial delays between the transfer of the lines, the installation at destination, the necessary tests before shipment, the first pilot delivery (by plane) and the first standard delivery (by boat). The team therefore recommended that comfortable buffers be allowed for the many risks identified.

After lively discussions about our cost/benefit analysis, particularly with the financials, we got the green light from our managers. Finally!

Everything was going well until the first standard delivery arrived; upon unloading, the sprays were found to be contaminated with bacteria, and therefore unusable. Uh oh.

Following a thorough and time-consuming investigation, the culprit was the unforeseen combination of humidity and heat! Humidity linked to the microscopic remains of water used to test the proper functioning of the vaporizer/spray before shipment and heat suffered in the shipping containers afloat for several weeks. After a new test protocol, everything was back on track and this project was an eventual success thanks to the safety stock.

Moral of the story? As the philosopher Auguste Comte used to say, identify (your risks) in order to foresee (appropriate solutions), in order to be able to (continue to deliver your customers in this example).

? savoir pour prévoir, afin de pouvoir ?

"Know to foresee, in order to be able to …"

Drift #2

During the implementation of a required purchasing policy for compliance (integrating processes, tools and KPIs into the supply chain), all stakeholders seemed to want this change described as "necessary", sometimes "indispensable" and eagerly awaited.

Buoyed by this positive momentum, the multidisciplinary team selected for the policy worked hard for many weeks to achieve its objective, guided by regular feedback from internal pilot customers representing the stakeholders.

Once the new policy had been officially validated by management, the time came to roll the policy out. During the very first training session, it became crystal clear that this policy was not going to be accepted without a fight from the very stakeholders who were fundamental in the creation of the policy. They wanted change but didn’t want to change themselves. Despite our thousands of hours of project management, we had been fooled like rookies, blinded by the unwavering support displayed by the stakeholders affected.

Following numerous internal interviews and "negotiations", the new purchasing policy was implemented, but much more slowly than planned and with additional support resources to ensure a smooth transition.

Moral of the story? Despite a seemingly favourable environment, holistic change management is one of the key factors of a project's success - pilot projects are not enough to ensure buy-in. As Einstein expressed it very well, "everyone wants to change, but no one wants to change”.

Drift #3

In the course of a profound transformation, a company wanted to launch a supplier relationship management programme. The idea was a good one because it really needed it: severe service issues with thousands of suppliers and too few buyers, the company could no longer keep up with its "one-size-fits-all" approach and needed to segment and manage each supplier in the most appropriate way.

At the same time, it had other fires to put out which were much more urgent.

The supplier relationship management programme was launched with a multidisciplinary team and pilot supplier/buyer pairs. However, we quickly realized that there were too many unfulfilled prerequisites in the middle of this transformation. For example, we didn't know which products would remain in the range and which ones would disappear, with the consequences for production sites, buyers and suppliers. It was therefore impossible to build the future company/supplier relationships without this starting point.

So we bit the hand that feeds by suggesting that the project be stopped and closed: a recommendation that was accepted because it was relevant at the time. The project was thus able to restart a few months later, serenely and efficiently: the supplier relationship management programme put in place is still in force today.

 Moral of the story? When the timing is not right, it is the project manager's role to sound the alarm and propose the appropriate measures. "The time is the time; before the time is not the time; after the time is not the time" (Jules Jouy).

*** Inspiring bonus – the artificial Port of Arromanches ***

During the Second World War, Churchill was the initiator of this spectacular project. Following heavy casualties in August 1942 at the Battle of Dieppe, he joked "if a port can't be taken, then you should bring one".

In record time, a daring plan was drawn up in spite of the Normandy storms, the geography of the area, the German presence, the war context, an over exploited industry... In the greatest secrecy, various prefabricated elements were produced in England in less than 9 months and shipped to their destination. In June 1944, two prefabricated ports were assembled on the Normandy coast to enable the Allies to be supplied in the days following the landings, while saving them from having to take a deep-water port from the Germans at the same time. Old and retiring ships were scuttled to protect the new harbour from the breakwater. And the artificial port of Arromanches was operational in a record 3 weeks (the one at Omaha Beach having been destroyed by a storm).

Moral of the story? Each project - by definition - has a more or less marked innovative aspect, whether it is building artificial harbours, imagining a device that can bring together a telephone / calendar / camera, or designing new rockets to send tourists into space. So, to our fellow project leaders, "Aim for the moon, even if you fail you will be among the stars" (Winston Churchill). After all, "with a valiant heart nothing is impossible" (Jacques Coeur).

"Aim for the moon, even if you fail you will be among the stars”

Don't hesitate to contact us if you want to strengthen your project manager toolbox.

We offer a slightly different type of training course – ones with educational games and realistic simulations that allow our participants to apply the tools they need in a safe and secure environment.

And stay tuned... Our project management top tips for efficient and smooth projects will soon be online!

See you soon,

Debbie Brown and Katia Gutknecht