By Jeff Marthins, Senior Business Consultant at John Galt Solutions
I once asked an executive, “What if I could accurately tell you sales demand for the next month? Would you use that information to make different decisions?” Sadly, the response was, “No. We would just do what we have always done.”
What a missed opportunity.
Unfortunately, that decision to ignore forecasted demand has a ripple effect to many individuals throughout the organization, and potentially interrupts employees’ weekend as they may have to work overtime to meet demand that was predicted and ignored.
I remember my grandfather used to say that if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got. It is easy to fall into a routine and forget to look outside the box. But lacking vision and innovation can be costly to the business. Sometimes that lack of vision can derive from companies that have been operating for a long time, or that have enjoyed continued success. Those companies’ success stories can blur the forward-thinking approach to demand and supply planning.
I have been involved in numerous business cases and helped calculate ROI for projects, capital improvements, and other financial impacts to the bottom line – to evaluate the potential profits and ROI opportunity from the investment. In these cases, I found that the company had the vision, but would be apprehensive to invest, perceiving the prospect as chasing a fad.