| Regardless of whether your Company deals | | | | Well, the part turned up, by express, the nest day, |
| business-to-business or business-to-consumer, | | | | thankfully. I fixed my tractor and continued the |
| inadequate inventory management processes will | | | | crushing. End of crushing is when I take my |
| affect your Customer Service and Customer | | | | machinery to be serviced, and since I spoke with the |
| Satisfaction levels. The following is the story of a | | | | same guy on the phone when I organised the |
| customer with a number of pieces of equipment that | | | | services, I asked him what had happened. The |
| he services and maintains through a particular | | | | computer system had recorded no stock on that |
| Company. How many other customers have faced | | | | item line, but when he had been placing the order for |
| the same or a similar situation. How many 'bottom | | | | that part a staff member had seen and advised him |
| lines' have suffered because of inadequate inventory | | | | that there was one of those parts in the warehouse, |
| management. | | | | so he sent it straight away - computer glitch |
| I'm a cane farmer, whose tractor for pulling the bins | | | | apparently. |
| the cut cane is stored in before transporting to the | | | | The above is a simple example of a preventable |
| mill, broke down in the middle of crushing season. I | | | | inventory management problem. A successful |
| have other tractors which are in use but it was really | | | | inventory management process anticipates, analyses, |
| busy and I needed this broken-down one fixed. Now. | | | | plans for, and delivers inventory standards which do |
| I'd pretty much figured out what the problem was, | | | | not compound into Customer Service disaster. It not |
| and needed two spare parts to remedy the situation. | | | | only focuses on the correct inventory supply levels, |
| So, as you do, I phoned the 'cane harvester and | | | | but also factors in the expertise of the personnel |
| tractor supplier and garage' to obtain these parts. Got | | | | who deal with the inventory process, the |
| a nice guy on the phone who took the details of | | | | relationships with the suppliers and distributors, as well |
| what I wanted and said he'd organise it. "Who was it | | | | as those who perform the maintenance functions, |
| for, what address for delivery and billing. etc....no | | | | and, the communication processes used to convey |
| worries, get that to you asap". | | | | the current and prospective requirements between |
| I expected to receive the parts, by express, the | | | | both the suppliers, the distributors and the end-users. |
| following day. One part arrived with a note saying | | | | Inadequacies in these processes compromise |
| that the other part was not in stock but they would | | | | personnel efficiency and Customer Service levels and |
| have it in two days and send it then. One part was | | | | also result in the customers Customer Satisfaction |
| no good to me, I needed them both to make the | | | | levels ranking as less than acceptable. Since the |
| tractor work. Why hadn't he checked this on the | | | | advent of Just-In-Time Management practices, there |
| phone and told me then so I would know and could | | | | has been extra-ordinary advances made in the |
| have tried somewhere else for that part...and it was | | | | Inventory Optimisation, Materials and Spare Parts |
| the middle of crushing, surely there hadn't been that | | | | Inventory Management principles and practices, and |
| many tractors breaking down, needing that particular | | | | the Supply Chain realm. These advances, when |
| part. I was pretty upset about it at the time but | | | | implemented prevent 'glitches' and provides Customer |
| there wasn't much I could do about it - other | | | | Service delivery that results in Customer Satisfaction |
| stockists of this part would take two days to deliver | | | | of not only an acceptable standard but a superior |
| anyway. | | | | one. |