“Doing this course has polished my skills. I got a lot out of the class discussions.”
Inam is a Quality Manager. When he began his FLM4 studies, he saw various ways to incorporate his learning into the workplace. He identified a project based on the continuous improvement of product. The problem he wanted to solve was that there was no procurement team for buying packaging – it was mostly unplanned and dictated by the supplier.
Inam says, “We were buying packaging last minute which resulted in quantity and size variation. There was no planning and no forecasting of needs. So, I asked the team, ‘What do we need to know? How can we plan? What do we need, to be able to forecast?’ So, for a time, we studied our consumption and then prepared a forecast.”
The small team of five took responsibility for various jobs, including quality, production, sales, and customer service, based on their past experience.
“As a team”, Inam says, “we set voluntary goals. I asked ‘What can we do? What can you do?’ and people volunteered saying, ‘I can take this part’, and so on. Initially, the process was frustrating at times because everyone was new to the project. But I said, ‘If we don’t do this, how will we know exactly where we are.’ So, data was collected such as calls, number of orders, product variance, customer complaints, and supplier delays, and this gave us an indication of our direction.”
“Then, with the production team we refined the criteria based on customer specs, packing ability, Food Safety guidelines, and the availability of products, to develop a standard. This requirement was communicated to the supplier to discern pricing and ability to provide the right product. We developed a matrix for minimum stock availability and reordering, adjusting the forecast based on consumption and seasonality.”
“Doing this course has polished my skills. I got a lot out of the class discussions. My classmates shared how they manage their workplaces which further raised my awareness of managing using various leadership styles.”
“The outcomes for the company are really positive. My project was a success! Our suppliers know the judgement criteria. If they meet the criteria, we will continue to place an order. The boss is really happy because he knows if the staff are not here, at least the business will keep moving. And the team, they are proud of being part of a successful project.’