In our previous blog, Identifying Signature Supply Chain Processes and Technology, we discussed the importance of identifying the right supply chain processes and technology that make the most business sense for your organization. In this blog, we will discuss how change plays a vital part in your supply chain 4.0 journey. More specifically, how to best manage change to (1) minimize impact and (2) optimize adoption.
Your ability to grasp and apply these two sections will make or break your journey. Our intention is not to instill fear, rather, we want to emphasize the importance that these aspects will be to your implementation, transition, or anything that involves an organizational change for that matter.
Embracing Change with Minimal Impact
Organizations seeking to incorporate supply chain 4.0 concepts into their technology platform often do so using a phased approach. This option minimizes the amount of time and effort needed from business users and IT personnel to implement new capabilities and manage process changes.
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The disruption to business operations across a broad process spectrum adds complexity to technology deployments. Selecting a smaller subset of processes to start with – such as procurement, logistics, supply chain planning, and field service – is a good way of growing into more advanced toolsets while minimizing deployment time and cost.
Hybrid (on-premises and cloud) application toolsets are becoming more common for bigger application footprints. Reaping the benefits of both types of applications while controlling the pace of adoption and innovation of supply chain 4.0 can be a good way to minimize the need for broader change management while incorporating innovative capabilities into select business processes.
Change Management Implications
The right technological toolset can help organizations tackle the challenges of achieving supply chain 4.0 excellence. However, that alone though is not enough to ensure transformation success.
Projects that employ effective change management are six times more likely to be successful than those that do not (Prosci).
When complex and heavily integrated processes get introduced and socialized within the organization, the ability to assimilate change in a rapid and orderly fashion will produce the greatest return on investment and minimize frustration. Having a good change management methodology – including ownership of the transition within the different organizational levels and socializing the impact of the investment to key stakeholders – will increase the likelihood of process adoption and integration on the journey to supply chain best-in-breed execution.
To learn more, you can download our entire guide here or below. Otherwise, stay tuned for blog #5 in the coming week on Supply Chain Metrics: Choosing the Best Technology Vendor for Partnership.
