Change Management - Knocking Down Barriers to Benefit

A company is very much like a complex organism. The workers serve as different organs, each with a specialized function, and the organism as a whole thrives and exudes energy if each organ is healthy. Like every other organism, an organization is part of a great race, competing and fighting to survive and be the best. When it comes to survival, it can only be achieved through adaptation.

There are species that don’t exist anymore because they couldn’t adapt to the change going on around them. We understand that change can be uncomfortable and terrifying at times, but for companies that refuse to adapt, the metaphorical extinction becomes all too real.

Why Companies Fear Change

One of the reasons that companies choose not to risk change is that they are threatened by it. The general mentality is why fix something that’s not broken, and a common denial of the need to oil something that would go rusty and eventually become obsolete if not tended to enough. We cannot stress enough how dangerous it can be to have such a mindset.

Even if you’re the best, the unfortunate fact (or fortunate beauty) of the capitalist world is that you can lose your status in a heartbeat. If companies stay too rigid in their ways, they’re bound to lose out in the long run. Globalization and technological reform require slight adjustments in short term goals or comfortable routines. Renovation is imperative for progress and staying afloat in this fast paced world. Progress is the best gauge of success and progress comes from change.

Sometimes the change needs to be on a foundational level. But not all changes have to be dramatic. Sometimes the change could be minute. After all – less often means more.

Change Often Brings Welcome Results

Since we’ve established how important change is, we understand that this may mean slight adjustments are required on many levels. But what most companies need to understand is that such change isn’t a colossal risk if it’s made through intelligent strategy and research. For example, a minor change made through the adoption of cloud software is a cost friendly, minimally disruptive and efficient change that can provide tremendous benefit to an organization.

Take for instance an organization that already has people and a process in place for the coordination, acquisition and management of custom-printed marketing materials. They know there must be a better way to get the job done; one that causes fewer headaches is more efficient and maybe even saves money.

When this organization looks at their options, they’ll see that most require a fairly extreme level of change, which may very well make them take a step back. However, cloud based software that simply augments their own people, processes and vendors with the tools, mechanisms and insight to achieve better results isn’t actually much of a change to make.

Since that is the business we are in here at eLynxx Solutions we see this day in and day out. In all honesty overcoming an organization’s reluctance to change is often one of the biggest barriers we face in helping them get the results they deserve. But, once they open up to the slight changes required in the adoption of eLynxx software and begin reaping the rewards, they wonder why they ever feared making the change in the first place.

Being Open to Change is Being Open to Success

Whether we’re talking about getting better results from your marketing supply chain or any other area of an organization, making a change to a crucial area of operations can be scary, we understand that. In fact we’ve experienced it. You don’t stay in the business we’re in for nearly 40 years without making some changes over the course of time. Successful organizations know when the time for change is right and when it is wrong; but they must first be open to change. Are you open to change and the success it can bring? If you are, we’d like to hear from you.

Change Management - Knocking Down Barriers to Benefit

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Conclusion

If the concept of a supply chain dedicated to the production of marketing materials never crossed your mind before you began following along, don’t worry, you’re not alone. That is exactly why we began The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide. Now, after twelve installments, it’s time to put the wraps on our exploration of one of the most complex, yet underappreciated, areas of marketing operations.

Will you be able to walk away knowing everything there is to know about the marketing supply chain? Probably not. And, in all honesty, that was never the goal of this series. The goal was to give you the insight to be able to identify the existance, and components, of your organization’s own marketing supply chain. Hopefully you are now able to do just that.

Knowing that the marketing supply chain is made of familiar elements whose connections may not always be clear; you now also know that coordination, acquisition, production and analysis are four areas commonly encompassed by the concept. Because every marketing supply chain is as unique as the the organzation it serves, you know that flexibility is a must for successful and strong project and digital asset management.

All of the critical roles – from marketing to finance, procurement and even legal – required to bring your organization’s marketing materials from concept to reality should now be easier to identify. Identification the graphic communication materials your organization relies upon, from the common marketing and sales items to packaging, displays and large-format visuals, should also be easier. All of the vendors who are crucial to the production, implementation and success of these materials – even those you may not have thought about before – should be easier to identify as well.

Armed with your newfound knowledge, identifying all of the elements of your organization’s own marketing supply chain should be fairly simple. Unfortunately, once you have it all mapped out, you will likely discover that coordinating, connecting and managing all of the elements, resources and people within it to be a challenge. This is not uncommon. So now you know what the marketing supply chain is and have identified yours, the next step is to manage it and the projects that flow through it.

While many orgaizations have tried either broad-scope ERP, procurement and other entreprise management software; others have looked toward outsourcing or building thier own solutions using complex systems of spreadsheets, email, and files. Each of these methods, while partially successful in some instances, tend to come up short because they don’t take the individuality, complexity and custom-specified nature of a given organization’s marketing supply into consideration. Organizations that have turned to a project management solution that is not only purpose-built for the marketing supply chain, but also tailored precisely to the organization’s people, processes and vendors, have found much greater success.

As this concludes The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide series, it certainly does not conclude the information we have to share here on the eLynxx Blog! Be sure to check back frequenly as well as connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter for continued insight into the marketing supply chain, marketing materials and marketing operations in general.

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Conclusion

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Part 7 – Procurement Roles

Any organization that produces materials used in marketing is going to have marketers. There is also always some level of executive and financial management. There are some roles that, depending upon the organization, may not be so simply defined.

So Who Does the Procurement in the Marketing Supply Chain?

In many organizations the function of procurement within the marketing supply chain is considered so specialized that it is placed in the hands of the marketing department. The department may either have units for print and media buying or it may place the responsibilities with broader units such as creative or advertising. At the other end of the spectrum, all of the specifications and details for marketing material projects are given to the procurement or purchasing department. They identify vendors, request pricing and award the project. In between is any number of combinations where marketing and procurement work together; often with marketing identifying vendors and procurement handling RFPs, awards and follow through. These last two scenarios are the focus of this exploration.

A Wrench in the Purchasing Machine

Because of the nature of the work, procurement or purchasing departments tend to be very hands-on and process oriented. Requisitions come in, prices are sought and the award is made. It’s a tried and true system for procuring inventoried supplies, raw materials and commodities. Marketing materials are nothing like those items. Supplies, raw materials and commodities are not 100% custom produced. Some, like vehicles and computers, may be custom configured from an available range of options. Few items in those categories are manufactured entirely on specification from the ground up as marketing materials are. Every marketing material project is unique.

At a quick glance, two random four-color tri-fold brochures may appear to be made the same way, aside from their content. Looking at their specs is likely to tell you something different in terms of the combination of materials and processes used. Even quantity can have a drastic impact on how a project needs to be produced for optimum quality and efficiency. Not every printer is capable of producing every combination of material and process at every quantity at the same level of quality. That can throw a monkey wrench into the smooth-running machinery of a purchasing operation.

How – and Where – Do Procurement Roles Fit?

Some organizations, especially larger ones with robust marketing and procurement operations, have specialist buyers for each purchasing category. An effective specialist buyer understands the purpose of the items they source, knows the terminology of its specifications, and understands the methods of its production. Traditionally, marketing materials were sourced by print buyers since printing has always been the primary means of production.

In today’s marketing supply chain, the dependency on print processes is still huge, but emphasis has shifted from the means of production to the product being produced. While print buyers still exist, if a type of marketing material is of high importance to an organization, it may have buyers with expertise in more refined specialties such as packaging, point of purchase displays or direct marketing.

It’s also not uncommon to find a centralized, general purchasing department with managers and buyers who source everything across the board. In such a case the buyers or purchasing agents may work very closely with the project’s subject matter experts to understand the specifications, needs and purposes of the project being sourced. In such an instance a purchasing agent or even a manager would be wise to involve project subject matter experts in certain critical decisions such as vendor selection.

Taking a step further, there are instances where a purchasing or procurement department’s role in the marketing supply chain is more about administration and compliance. An example of this would be where the project’s subject matter experts provide not only the specifications and needs for the project, but also perform the research to identify vendors who can meet all of its requirements. From that point forward, purchasing agents, buyers and their managers would obtain pricing, award the project to a vendor and follow up with any additional administration.

Making the Right Connections

Regardless of where an organization falls within this continuum, a strong and free-flowing connection between procurement roles and the rest of the marketing supply chain is critical. Even in cases where marketing is responsible for sourcing its own materials; bulletproof specifications are imperative to getting the project done as planned. Tracking of tasks, actions, decisions and results ensures compliance with budgets and deadlines, as well as with procurement and marketing procedures. It’s a lot to try to make happen in an organization of any size but it’s not impossible especially with the help of project management software built especially for the marketing supply chain.

The next installment in the Marketing Supply Field Guide will wrap up our look at common roles in the marketing supply chain. See you next week.

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Part 7 – Procurement Roles