Will your Supply Chain team reveal their true colours?

Every day, we work with our customers to optimize their supply chains, whether as part of consultancy projects in which we explore better approaches to processes, systems and organizations, or by providing training to increase our customers’ knowledge of supply chain management so that they can continue to make lasting improvements themselves.

A supply chain improvement project is often focused on the design/redesign of planning processes, system implementation and the definition of KPIs to enable the effectiveness of the processes to be measured. Useful characteristics include a methodical approach to working and good analytical insight, which is why we also see these traits in many planners.

When you’re developing a new and innovative process or IT system, it helps if the other people you’re working with also take a structured approach. After all, everything is based on logic and accuracy. When you can explain the reasoning behind all your decisions and often even justify them with impressive drawings, it’s beneficial if your contact person is used to working with numbers too.

But that’s not the whole story. The Supply Chain department is one part of the entire organization, and changes in the supply chain processes nearly always also have an impact on other departments. And that’s often where the problems start, when it becomes apparent that not everyone else thinks and works in the same way as the people in the supply chain organization. Not everyone is methodical and structured and loves analysing figures (and thank goodness for that!). But that can make it very challenging to implement changes.

Sales and Marketing employees often regard their Supply Chain colleagues as troublesome, inflexible people who always want to do everything with precision and don’t like anything that deviates from the standard. Meanwhile, people in the Supply Chain department regard their Sales and Marketing colleagues as fickle boys and girls who are forever thinking up something new.

It isn’t a question of who’s right or wrong; there is no ‘ideal’ behaviour. It’s the mix of different qualities and competencies that makes an organization so strong – providing those qualities are utilized wisely, that is. And that requires people who, firstly, recognize those differences and, secondly, know how to cope with them. But how can you create such a situation?

One way is to analyse your team using DISC methodology: a psychometric test based on colour profiling that provides insight into people’s (often complex) reality and their behaviour. At Involvation we believe that changing the ‘hard’ side of the organization is not the only way to make improvements, which is why we have added a workshop on DISC behavioural styles to our training offering. This workshop can be integrated with the other content-based supply chain training and workshops we provide. By creating a colour profile for each person, DISC reveals insights into the various behavioural styles present within a team. You also receive tools that help you assess the profiles of colleagues beyond the team and, above all, what’s the best way to work together with them in view of your own qualities and colour profile.

Keen to know more? Please contact Els van der Lelij e.vdlelij@involvation.com.