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Why would I use a consultant Are there situationswhere it makes sense and where it doesn’t

Shouldn’t we know how to do this ourselvesAll great questions addressed in this article.

MEDIA

Time to engagea Supply ChainConsultant?Read this first.

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Why would I use a consultant? Are there situationswhere it makes sense and where it doesn’t? Shouldn’twe know how to do this ourselves?

All great questions. And I’d like to address this bysplitting the response into two parts. Firstly, whatsituations might call for consulting and advisoryassistance. And secondly, what qualities to look forin a Consultant.

THE SITUATION

What situations might call for a Consultant?

Change

To distil it to its simplest form, 'change' itself createsthe need for consulting and advisory services in themarket. As complexity, scale and the rate of changeincreases, we’re confronted with an exponentiallyexpanding set of challenges and responsibilities.Consultants often get called in when there is a newchallenge or significant change. As a result,Consultants spend most of their time dealing withchallenges that organisations themselves deal withless frequently. For example, a Consultant might helpten multi-national organisations with supply chainstrategy and network optimisation each year. Assuch, that Consultant will have proven expertise,skilled people, current insights, innovative solutionsand purpose built tools and techniques at the ready.Where the Consultant might do this ten times a year,

an organisation might only do this once every threeyears. As such, the circumstances don’t encouragethe organisation to invest in or maintain thesecapabilities as a core competency. We often refer tothis as 'Economy of Skill', and your Consultant shouldhave it.

Also keep in mind that the Consultant should ideallyhave experience in your industry as well as others.'Like' industry experience ensures that the work isrelevant and informed, whereas work in otherindustries brings new perspectives and freshthinking. For example, what is happening in Retailsupply chains that could be useful in the Healthcareindustry? What can be learned from Aviation industrypractices when looking for opportunities in Defenceor Mining supply chains?

Some of the situations that fall under the 'change'heading include mergers and acquisitions, entry intonew markets, offshoring and outsourcing,technology implementation and integration,changing cost structures and customer expectations,shifting competitive landscape, new fulfilmentchannels (eg online fulfilment), increased scale orgrowth, addition or rationalisation of facilities and anew CEO with new ideas about the future.

If it’s mission critical, high risk and you don’t have alot of proven experience with it, it might be a goodtime to pick up the ‘Bat Phone’!

Time to engage a Supply Chain Consultant?Read this first.By Carter McNabb

“If it’s mission critical, high risk and youdon’t have a lot of proven experiencewith it, it might be a good time to pick

up the ‘Bat Phone’!”

www.gra.net.au

Competency & capability development

Another reason for using Consultants is to buildcompetency and capability. This tends to be focussedon areas that the business has identified asstrategically important, and where best practice candeliver a competitive advantage. The more complexand cross functional the application, the more valuethe Consultant can add. That’s not to say that aConsultant won’t add value by training the Logisticsteam on the use of the Warehouse ManagementSystem or a Demand Planner on Time PhasedReplenishment Planning (TPRP). These are absolutelyimportant and necessary in their own right. But themore complex and interdependent the situation, thegreater the demands on specialisation and skill toensure success. For example, the design andimplementation of a Sales & Operations Planning(S&OP) process, along with the underpinningplanning process and systems capabilities, requiresengagement and stakeholder managementthroughout the full organisational structure, deepdomain expertise in processes, systems and data –and a proven approach change management andcapability development approach. As mentionedearlier, the Consultant is well placed as they addressthese challenges frequently, knows what works andwhat doesn’t and has skilled people and intellectualproperty assets to assist.

Results delivery

We see a lot of activity where organisations areseeking specific results. These include sustainedinventory reductions to free up cash and fund growthinitiatives, service level increases, time to marketimprovements, delivery lead time compression, fixedand variable cost reduction and process efficiencyimprovements. In these situations, the Consultantleverages their implementation know how to helpthe organisation deliver the results. This typicallyinvolves a strong partnership between theorganisations, a practical focus and a 'hands on'engagement approach to drive the activities linkedto results delivery.

THE CONSULTANT

And what qualities should you look for in aConsultant?

Specialisation & Experience

Relevant specialisation and experience is vitallyimportant for your success. Does the Consultant haveexpert capability in your area of need? Do theyunderstand your industry? Where have they done itbefore, and how much of it have they done? Did theclient accept their recommendations? Why or whynot? Did the Consultant help the client withimplementation of recommendations? What werethe outcomes, lessons learned and insights gleaned?Did the project go according to plan? This should beasked not only of the Consulting firm, but of theindividual Consultants, as well. And check references.What do the Consultant’s clients have to say aboutthem?

Intellectual Property Assets

What intellectual property assets does the Consultantbring to the table? These might include analytical,assessment and diagnostic tools, benchmarking data,market intelligence, training and education materials,methodologies, best practice process templates andindustry research. How might these be useful to you?Where can they provide an advantage in terms ofdoing something better and faster? Do they providevaluable insights that enable your organisation to actwith confidence?

“The more complexand cross functionalthe application, the

more value theConsultant can add.”

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Tel: (03) 9421 4611Email: info@gra.net.au

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Tel: (02) 9810 0229Email: info@gra.net.auwww.gra.net.au

About the AuthorCarter McNabb is a founding Partner of GRA and is widely acknowledged as aninfluential industry expert. He advises CEOs of some of Australia’s top companies andspeaks regularly to this audience. For the last 20 years, Carter has helped organisationsdeliver rapid and sustained inventory reductions, service level improvements andsupply chain cost reductions through the practical application of leading supply chainprocesses, techniques and systems. In addition to his extensive industry experience,Carter runs an Executive Supply Chain Forum comprised of CEOs from ASX 200companies and is a member of the CEO Institute. He has also authored and deliveredMasters courses within Monash University's Logistics & Supply Chain ManagementPost Graduate Program. With a series of published articles and white papers, pressquotes and frequent speaking engagements, Carter is a recognised expert in the field.Importantly, he brings a healthy blend of theory and practical, proven experience tothe subject of supply chain management.

Approach

Last but definitely not least is the approach. Quitesimply, relationship quality is the most importantaspect to a successful partnership with a Consultant.Do they want to help you build the capability withinyour business or do it for you? Do they activelyencourage ownership and seek engagement? Dothey work side-by-side with you or just makerecommendations? Are they friendly and flexible? Dothey have a sense of humour? Are their values andyours aligned? Are they focussed on the outcome?Do they offer commercial models linked to yourresults? Do they see your success as a reflection oftheir own? Healthy relationships are underpinned byunderstanding, empathy and aligned intentions.Make sure your Consultant really is 'on your team'!

And as a parting comment, there’s no weakness orshame in asking for help! Some feel that bringing ina Consultant reflects deficiency or a lack of capability.However, asking for help when it’s needed is a signof maturity, self-awareness, wisdom and confidence.We speak from experience as we regularly work withConsultants. We’ve used Consultants in areasincluding legal & finance, leadership development,presentation skills, remuneration, recruiting,negotiation and marketing to name a few.

So, there are many reasons why you may need theextra skills and expertise a Consultant can offer. Youmight be facing significant change in the near futurewhere highly specialised, experienced Consultantscan work with you to ensure not only a smoothtransition but also to identify and capitalise on newopportunities that the change may bring. You mayhave recognised areas of improvement to develop

your team’s competencies and capabilities that willdrive business improvement, or you may havespecific goals you’d like to achieve; such as workingcapital and service level improvement, cost reductionetc. If any of these scenarios sound familiar, it may bea good time to explore working with a Consultant -one with the appropriate level of specialisation andexperience, intellectual property assets that will bringreal and enduring value, and critically, the rightapproach or 'fit' with your company to ensure themost successful outcome.

This article was first published inGlobal Logistics Media.

“Quite simply,relationship quality is

the most importantaspect to a successful

partnership with aConsultant.”