Don't let your logistics derail, intervene in time!

Interim managers are only called in once the bomb has gone off. Far too late, say interim managers Marcel van Sas and Bart van Keulen. In this first blog of a two-part series they stress the importance of intervening in time. In their second blog they explain how UC Group can help with this.

An increasing number of logistics companies are ending up in a crisis. Employees call in sick or leave, delivery reliability declines, procedures are followed less closely and the managers responsible resign. Or are dismissed. The cause of this is a combination of factors.

First of all, there is the gigantic pressure on supply chains. The world is becoming more complex, product ranges are growing, there is a shortage of staff and there is great uncertainty. In both demand and supply. As a manufacturer or wholesaler you depend on your suppliers, but customers are not interested in that. They want to be supplied quickly and in full. If your purchased goods are delayed in the Suez Canal or if there is a shortage of raw materials, that is your responsibility.

It is currently hard enough for companies to stay afloat, let alone to improve. Research by McKinsey* shows that Western companies have barely become more productive over the past five years. And that while costs are in fact rising steeply. We regard this as a ticking time bomb, because in the long term companies lose their competitive position as a result.

Managers resign

Another cause of the logistics crisis is that people become overloaded. People in management positions are only ‘firefighting’ and, partly because of the increasing complexity, lose sight of the bigger picture. Under the guise of ‘it is simply busy’, they also feel less responsible for overall performance. They lose their grip and their ownership too. Employees are no longer consistently called to account for mistakes and procedures are followed less closely. The result is that people lose pleasure in their work and start looking around. When they decide to resign and go to work for another company, not only do valuable knowledge and experience disappear, but an acute problem also arises.

Calling in help earlier

This is the moment when boards often call in an interim manager! Someone who ‘comes to clear the rubble’. Our urgent advice is: do not let it get that far! You can see a crisis coming

much earlier. By calling in help in time, you can save a great deal of ‘repair costs’. Within UC Group we have developed a model in which we distinguish four phases: the stable phase, the signalling phase, the structural slackening and the crisis. It is understandable that you do not call for help immediately at the first signs, but that is precisely when you can still prevent the damage and perhaps retain your people. With our model you map out which phase your company is in. With a number of targeted measures, adjustments can be made in time and managers and team leaders regain their grip on their processes. This process is guided by a UC Group professional.

Sensible investment

But hiring an external professional when not much seems to be wrong yet? Boards are not quick to do that, we notice. They sometimes see it as an admission of weakness on their own part (‘surely we should be able to solve that ourselves’) or they think they are insulting their team leaders by doing so. This is a big misunderstanding. By bringing in an external coach you actually show that you take your managers seriously. You do not leave them to their fate but protect them from stress and overload. You help them keep a grip on their work and, as a result, pleasure in their job.

And it is also financially sensible. Investing in an interim manager in the signalling phase, and thereby retaining your staff, costs only a fraction of what you lose if you have to recover from a crisis! Do not forget either that in such a case hard interventions and many changes have to take place under great time pressure. Employees generally do not find that very pleasant, so the costs of staff turnover and change management will also rise considerably.

In short: never ignore the first signs (phase 2) that point to a logistics decline and be open to help. If you wait until the slackening sets in (phase 3) and only take action when people are actually leaving the ‘sinking ship’ (phase 4), you are too late and the pain in your own organisation: and for your customers! : is immeasurable. Do not let it get that far, intervene in time. We are ready to help you.

This is blog 1 in a two-part series about our Results on All Fronts proposition. In the next blog we look specifically at the improvement model mentioned and show how UC Group can help logistics teams regain their grip on their processes.