Let me begin by saying my work life has never been boring. Well, there's a positive and negative side of it not being boring. The fantastic side is that there's always something new; new challenges to solve, new opportunities to learn from and take advantage of and definitely infinite room for growth. The downside? I could end up spending hours and hours in traffic just to make sure my new team members understand why we're doing what we're doing. Let's get to this part later!
It was a last-minute decision to accept our partner's invitation to join an event here in Manila. The event was held earlier today in Shangri-la Manila so we had to fly all the way from Cebu to Manila yesterday. I've been literally running around Metro Manila since our arrival. The event's just one day but I had to ensure we make the most out of our visit. Not to mention it's very costly to book a flight a few days before the departure. Yesterday, we checked a few stores where our products are displayed. That meant moving around from Pasay (where the airport is located), to Ortigas to Ermita and back to Ortigas. And if you are from Manila you'll get what I'm talking here. The traffic sucks!
Just to be clear, I am not a Sales Executive but I'm a believer that Supply Chain Practitioners (I'm a Demand Planner by accident lol) like me should have an intensive exposure to what's happening in the market. What others would think is that data will suffice; maybe for other businesses, it is enough. But our case is unique; I believe the more my team members know how our products are consumed and why they're consumed in such a manner, the more they'll deepen their understanding of the vital role they play in making sure our products are always available even before they're needed. And that's why I pushed for the store visits despite the distance between one store from the other. My boss taught me well and I'm just paying it forward to my new teammate.
Today is a reminder that we're a long way to go in terms of where our supply chain is and where we want to bring it to. The end goal is to provide what the future will demand from us and it starts from having one single source of truth. Although I could say we've done pretty well despite not having a single figure as reference for company-wide plannings but from the looks of it, we'll soon be obsolete if we don't do something now. As they say, change before you're required to. And I'm grateful our top management gave supply chain the much needed break in terms of technological advancement. This should've been done yesterday but still, better late than never.
This new partnership we're implementing in no time and a huge project I'm undeniably excited to lead is by far the biggest thing my boss has entrusted me and my team. And today marks the start of it. I'm exultant to have met fellow Supply Chain Practitioners from small up to the largest conglomerates in the country and heard stories about their journeys towards more connected and agile supply chains.
This is just the beginning and I couldn't wait to pioneer our very first supply chain planning transformation. Wish me and my team luck! ☺️
