Transcript – Open Sky Group and Let's Talk Supply Chain Discuss

Supply Chain TV Series, V1 – Change Management Transcript

Participants: Sarah Barnes-Humphrey, Let’s Talk Supply Chain Jeremy Hudson, Open Sky Group

Sarah (Intro) – When you hear the word implementation, I bet you feel a since of dread. Maybe some anxiety, as implementations in the past have not gone smoothly, or have taken way too long. Well, today we are here to change that because no longer should implementations invoke fear, or anxiety. They should be something everyone looks forward to. The dawn of a new day that promises efficiencies, more time to think creatively and strategically, but most of all a sense of innovation and moving into the future. Today, I am joined by Jeremy Hudson of Open Sky Group to walk us through what a true successful software implementation should look like and so over the next five episodes we will break down the steps of what you need to know, so your current or next supply chain technology implementation can bring your people together versus tearing them apart. First, we start with change management and how this is a skill every leader should learn and practice. (End Intro)

So, welcome Jeremy. Why don’t we get started with the background in Open Sky Group and why you are leaders in technology implementation?

Jeremy – Open Sky Group is a global JDA specialist. We implement warehouse management, labor management, workforce management and transportation management solutions within the supply chain. We started about thirteen years ago and what we were then is a little bit different from what we are now. Back in the day, if you think about supply chain software thirteen years ago, it was very much a build-to-suit type of technology. Companies would come in and they would build a very specific code base for a company and they would have to maintain that WMS over time. Ultimately, we saw where this was hurting companies and so did the software providers. So since then software has evolved. Open Sky Group saw this as an opportunity to also evolve. So, what we did is about four years ago, we introduced a paradigm shift in terms of how we implement. We took more of a disciplined, agile approach to the way that we implement software and we are starting to see great results from that. So, now we are starting to see companies implement in a much shorter period of time. What we are also seeing is the ability to go-live much more frequently. For example, this year alone we saw a streak of fifteen weeks where we saw eighteen go-lives within that period of time, and we think it’s a direct result of the change in approaches we are taking to implementations. So, we are very proud of that and we continue to see the successes of implementing software this way.

Sarah – Great! Well, before we do a deep dive into a successful implementation, I want to talk about change management because I think it’s a big topic and something that’s really going to drive a successful implementation. So, what exactly is change management?

Jeremy – I think when folks hear “change management,” they immediately think of Human Resources and flyers on a bulletin board. They are thinking it’s a human-resources-centric kind of

operation, but truthfully, where we see change management done right is when it’s done not in parallel to a project, but when it’s entrenched in a project itself. So, I like to see when Human Resources are involved from the very beginning. I like to have my Human Resources team in that implementation design session. They need to understand from the very beginning what’s going to change, what’s going to be the largest impact of change and I like really talking about those topics from the beginning. So, for example, what terminology are you most likely to see change? What you may call one thing today, might change in the future. Let’s start to call those things out early. Let’s get those folks involved. Let’s get them involved in the conversations and that allows us to truthfully carry that forward into the projects. So, here’s the thing, supply chain is changing rapidly, we’re seeing that. We’re seeing that suddenly jobs are going to change with the implementation of the software. So, Human Resources is able to get involved, those folks that are managing the change will be able to get involved and what they are going to be able to do with that is really focus on whose jobs that are going to change the most and how we can handle that throughout the course of an implementation.

Sarah – So then why is it so important for leaders to really embrace change management for the future of their careers, as well as the business?

Jeremy – My advice to leader’s is don’t simply focus on making a great tool. Simply providing a great tool or producing a great tool isn’t necessarily what you are focused on with change management. Truthfully, that tool is only as valuable as you empower your users to use it. And so simply providing a well-developed, well-configured tool isn’t necessarily going to provide your business with the end solution they are looking for. You have to empower those users. So, it’s not about simply building a great tool for months and months of a project, but also making sure that you’ve given users the ability to wield that tool correctly. I would advise leaders out there that are embarking upon a project such as this, to not just focus on building that great tool, but also understand throughout that entire project how folks are going to be using that great tool and how they need to be empowered to do so.

Sarah – You might be wondering why or how change management correlates to implementation. Well, it has a huge impact. Let’s share with the audience some key components to that. What would be the top three things as part of a change management strategy that leaders, companies and businesses should be focusing on?

Jeremy – Sure, I think it boils down to understanding, inclusion and awareness. I think if you think about understanding, for example, you’re going to want to make sure people understand why you are making this change. Software implementation is a drastic change to a lot of people. This isn’t a system that only a few people are handling. A lot of people will see the impacts of this implementation and I think understanding why you’re changing, understanding what you’re going to improve and why a role may change is very important to those who are going to be impacted. I think also, inclusion. I think that a lot of times changes are rejected, not because they’re bad, but simply

because people don’t feel like they had a say. They don’t have a true idea of why something is changing and I think giving them that inclusion in that process, one thing I learned is, when we implement a software, many times the leaders think they know exactly how something works in the building and that’s not necessarily the case. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve gone through a design session, we’ve gone through a proof of concept session and then suddenly learn: wait a second, what you told me was happening, isn’t necessarily what we’re seeing happen out there on the floor and it’s because we didn’t include the users that are actually performing the job. I think inclusion helps everybody. It helps the leaders understand what’s truly happening and what can be improved, and I think it helps those who are doing the job understand what’s going to change for them and why. And then lastly, awareness. I like to divide this into three different groups. So, when I talk about awareness, I like to think about those who will hear about software change. Think of your customers. Think of those that might see the end result. And then you also have those that will see the software, that don’t necessarily interact with it, but they are going to see the results of it. So, your customer service representatives, things of that sort, your sales team and then finally you have those that will use the software. If you treat each one of those groups separately, it’s going to be a different level of change management for each. So, I think approaching it in that way is best. So, again, it is going to be understanding, inclusion and awareness.

Sarah – (Exit) Now that we have learned about change management, why it is important and the top three things to have in your change management strategy for a successful implementation, next we will dive into the importance of working with the right software partner and key questions to ask along the way.