Jul 10 2007 6:39AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
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I thought that I would share two experiences that I have had in the last 24 hours that, in a real-life way, are examples of how hard it is for people to accept change.  One Sunday I went to the grocery store and it was very crowded.  I am not known for my patience when it comes to certain things so I cruised down the isles loading my cart with what I needed as fast as I could.  Once I finished, I looked for the shortest line and headed for it.  Well, this woman who was ahead of me had a full cart and when it came time to pay she took out her checkbook and wrote the check, entered the transaction into her checkbook, took out a calculator and reconciled her account right in front of me.  I couldn’t help but think that if she just would use a debit card, which is basically the same as a check.

Today I went to the post office.  In our town, we have automatic stations where you can mail packages, envelopes, buy stamps, etc.   The place was packed.  The line for “real people” was extremely long.  But there was no one at the automatic stations.  I went to one of them, mailed two packages and bought some stamps in less than five minutes.  As I walked out I looked at the people in the long line and couldn’t believe that they couldn’t even try the automatic stations.

As I drove home today I couldn’t help but relate these two incidences to our industry and the supply chain.  We have become so comfortable with the supply chain that we have been used to that we perhaps can’t see a different road to take.  I am not suggesting change for the sake of change but what I am saying is that builders, manufacturers, distributors and contractors must analyze the supply chain processes and identify those that are not adding value.  Once these are identified, than we should look for alternative methods that are more efficient and provide value.

I hope to see you at the grocery store or the post office in the near future.