Year: 2020

The success of a sales manager is a direct reflection of the performance of his sales team. For a sales manager to succeed in his career, words like ‘me’ and ‘I’ do not work. Being the fulcrum of the team, the sales manager must take on the role of a nurturer to build talent and skill of his team members. Poor sales managers can reduce the overall efficiency of their teams, while efficient ones ensure their teams work optimally and earn significantly more.

When sales managers act as coaches and nurturers to their teams:

• They help each team member reach their individual goals, while simultaneously fostering a team culture.
• They know how to leverage talent by placing their team members in the right positions.
• They are able to recruit and hire the best talent for the job.

Here are some important tips to help you become an efficient and effective sales manager in order to drive better team performance and ultimately, bottom-line growth of the organization.

1. In the initial period of taking charge, it is best to observe the way the team operates to gain an understanding of the people and the sales process. By observing how the sales team carries out its tasks, you can identify where things could improve and how to communicate or approach the team members.
2. As a sales manager, enabling your people to get what they want is a good way to get what you want from them. So, it is best to discuss with each one of them and learn about their goals and dreams. Planning for individual goals can help the team work as a single unit in achieving a common sales target.
3. Once you have made observations about your team and have discussed their individual goals, identify the one most important change that needs to be implemented right away to improve efficiency of the sales process. It also reinstates the belief the team has in you and your ability to get things done effectively. Continue to implement impactful changes, one at a time.
4. To be a successful sales manager, one needs a mentor for encouragement and to make the right sale moves. A senior and experienced member in the same field would be a good choice to talk to, share ideas, and overcome work challenges.

Improve Sales Efficiency and Sales Effectiveness

Step 1: Identify the right sales process

First comes improving effectiveness. As Albert Einstein says, we can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results each time. Tamara Schenk asserts, “It cannot be emphasized often enough that questioning the current state is a fundamental sales leadership approach to developing high-performance sales teams”.

To improve effectiveness, sales leaders need to outline a consistent sales process and then set sales objectives around those activities or related to specific sales goals. Companies that follow a defined workflow are 33% more likely to be high performers.

Step 2: Give sales reps the proper training

Less than 45% of companies have a formal sales training process. However, continuous training can yield up to 50% higher net sales per sales rep. As a sales leader, you may know what needs to be done, but your sales team may not know how to execute. The fact that 87% of training content is forgotten within weeks just reinforces the need for ongoing coaching and training.

Tools such as sales playbooks allow sales leaders to provide their teams with just-in-time coaching and best practices to ensure they have what they need to further the deal. Information such as talk tracks, training materials, kill sheets, and persona-based selling tips can be instantly accessible to reps for any given sales situation.

Step 3: Optimize these activities

After identifying which processes are effective, you can work on improving efficiency by optimizing those activities. According to a 2015 study from Aberdeen, investing in sales analytics and forecasting solutions is directly correlated to better sales and business-wide performance results. Organizations that use sales analytics increase team quota attainment 4x faster than non-users. Best-in-class sales leaders are open to ongoing analysis, learning, and adjustment. It’s important to use KPIs and metrics to determine what works, what doesn’t work, and areas for improvement in terms of factors such as speed, accuracy, and quality. Consider metrics such as call rate, win rate, sales cycle length, pipeline conversion rates, and average number of touches until conversion. Use dashboards to visualize trends and gain valuable insights into sales rep activity.

A modern selling strategy requires modern sales tools, such as sales enablement technology. A sales enablement platform such as Seismic aims to align marketing and sales processes and goals and then arm sales teams with the tools and content to improve sales execution and drive revenue. Sales enablement, by nature, empowers and enables sales reps to work more efficiently. And remember, a more efficient and effective sales team means more revenue is being generated.

It’s not unusual for a builder to look to his own sales staff when he needs to hire a sales manager. While it might be tempting to give the position to his top producer, that’s probably not the best person for the job. The customer-focused skills that make a person a great closer are quite different from the ones needed to keep a staff inspired, educated, and prepared to sell. While sales associates need to master the sales process, build rapport and trust with buyers, and be relentless at prospecting and follow-up, sales managers need to be able to set the proper goals for their teams and give them the tools to achieve those goals.

A sales manager plays a key role in the success of the sales team, setting the tone and culture of the organization. Competence in achieving exceptional results through leadership makes an effective sales manager.

A good sales manager can only prevail through learned and applied skills being able to manage a team by getting all the individuals together to form a cohesive unit and focus on making successful deals is an art itself, especially amongst the tough competition. However, there are practices which can help sales managers not only manage but lead in the right direction.

1. Being strategic: Setting goals and expectations

To be an effective sales manager you need to deliver a form of strategic perspective. Managers need to be clear about the direction the team should be taking and be specific about what is expected. This means knowing what your team goals are on an individual and personal level and how you can personally and collectively work towards the team’s strategic goals.

Being honest and realistic about goals and expectations from the outset means each team member knows what they are accountable for and when, including the rewards for meeting expectations and ramifications for not. To be effective the goals need to follow SMART criteria, i.e. Specific-Measurable-Attainable-Realistic-Timely. The manager should help the team develop a plan so that they can stay focused and achieve their goals.

2. Ability to train and coach

Sales managers are experts on the company’s products and processes and so should be able to pass on that knowledge to the team. Hence, paving the way for salespeople who are confident in solving problems and making decisions.

Ongoing coaching demonstrates commitment. Adaptive coaching which provides valuable and focused one-to-one support takes into account each individual salesperson’s needs. It illustrates the sales manager’s understanding of the diversity of selling techniques which lead to success.

Providing guidance, regular and constructive feedback is a difficult skill to master but important in building sales staff confidence.

3. Manage sales performance

Keeping a close eye on sales processes with a focus on what is driving sales outcomes makes effective sales management. Measuring sales team performance via metrics and indicators helps sales managers target improvements in quality as well as quantity. They are better able to anticipate any opportunities or uncertainty and resolve in good time. Even a small positive development in communications, such as an agreement to follow up on a lead or submitting a proposal, can encourage a successful outcome.

Providing frequent and regular feedback on team members’ performance is beneficial to both the manager and salesperson. Constructive feedback reinforces the manager’s engaging role with the team and contributes to their development.

4. Communicate regularly

Communication is a fundamental function of a manager. Strong communication fosters a dynamic exchange of feedback, suggestions and ideas with each salesperson understanding the role they play and the processes and tools they will use. It demonstrates how managers encourage creativity and help the team grow and learn, becoming a united team.

5. Manage by leading

The ability to lead is also a quality of an effective sales manager. Influential in an individual salesperson’s ability to reach or exceed their quotas, sales managers have the ability to nurture a sales culture focused on targets and high performance. Continuously looking for ongoing improvements through incremental steps and a streamlined sales process, they motivate and build confidence in the team.

6. Encourage development

As sales managers strive to be better leaders, they advocate the importance of maintaining commitments and targets. In order to allow the sales team’s performance to improve, time needs to be allocated to courses and training opportunities to build salespeople’s skills and enable them to grow professionally.

At the same time, managers also need to improve their own performance through personal development. They should also be willing to put in the extra work required to progress.

7. Recruit quality talent

As well as focusing on improving sales team performance, sales managers are also responsible for talent acquisition identifying, recruiting, developing and retaining the best sales people available. This means assessing skills critical to the role and attributes that closely align with the organisation.

A competitive nature is a key characteristic of a good salesperson and searching for one who has the natural ability to sell is important.

Consistency is vital and understanding sales management is the first step towards becoming an effective sales manager. Commitment to proficiency in the above will lead to a more productive and profitable team culture. Being able to maintain these practices will promote continued growth.

The history of salesmanship is as old as human civilization. Paul Hermann described Bronze Age’s travelling salesperson’s sample case. The salespeople used a wooden box, 26 inches long, containing, in specifically hollowed compartments, axe, sword blades, buttons, etc.

The salespeople in the past were not held in high esteem by the society. The Roman meaning of the word salesperson is ‘cheater’, and Mercury, the god of cunning and barter, was regarded as the patron deity of merchants and traders. The business and trade of buying and selling goods flourished over centuries and centred only on some specific cities of the world. India was a great destination for traders and resellers in the medieval age for spices, carpets, jewellery, etc.

Many diverse races and religions entered our country with the travelling salespeople. Even the erstwhile colonial rulers of India, the British, came to India for the purpose of expanding their business and trade, though subsequently they satisfied their political interest. They ruled this country to protect their own business interests.

The first salespeople in the US were the yankee peddlers who carried clothing, spices, and household articles from one part of the country to another part. In India they are called pheriwallahs. These pheriwallahs move from village to village and sell sarees, dress materials, and spices mostly in the rural markets of India, because rural housewives have lesser mobility than urban housewives. These people move from the manufacturing bases of the country to different consumption centres in India.

The pack peddlers in India traded with the tribal Indians and exchanged knives, beads, and ornaments for furs, spices, salt, and handicrafts. These people were viewed as shrewd, unprincipled tricksters who would not think twice before practicing product and price manipulations for higher benefits. They sold coloured sugar water as medicine and cheated people for smaller gains. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, these peddlers started using horse-driven carts and wagons, and started stocking heavier goods.

They started storing goods such as furniture, weapons, ammunitions, food items, and grains. Some of these wagon peddlers settled down in villages, and opened stores and trading posts. The community of Baniyas or the trading caste in India has its origin in these settlers and store owners. The big retailers travelled to the nearest cities to replenish their stocks and bought goods to resell in their localities.

Wholesalers and manufacturers hired greeters and drummers who would seek out and invite retailers to visit the display of the owner. The drummers would meet the passengers from incoming trains and ship with great fanfare to beat their competitors. In the next phase, the drummers started visiting the customer’s place of business.

There were fewer than 1,000 travel­ling salespeople before 1860 in the US who were basically credit investigators and took orders for goods. Their numbers increased as the pace and reach of industrial .revolution spread across continents.

The techniques of modern sales management and selling techniques were refined by John Henry Patterson, widely known as the father of modern sales management. He ran the National Cash Registry. He asked his best salespeople to demonstrate their sales techniques to other salespeople. The best sales approach was printed in a sales primer and distributed to all the other salespeople to follow.

This is how the canned sales approach began. In addition to this, Mr Patterson assigned to his salespeople exclusive territories and sales quotas in order to stretch their efforts. He arranged frequent sales meetings that served the double purpose of training and socialization.

He also sent regular sales information on techniques of selling. Thomas J. Watson was trained by Mr Patterson who later founded International Business Machines (IBM). Patterson was the pathfinder who showed the strategy and skill required to transform a sales force into an effective workforce for generating sales and profits.

Today, the process of sales management has undergone numerous changes in terms of strategy, practice, and technological adoption to achieve the desired sales goal. A salesperson is no longer an order taker or information provider; rather he is viewed as a consultant to the customers.

Due to non-personal form of business and increasing distances between the manufacturers and customers, sales organizations are now emphasizing more on quality consulting skills to solve the customers’ problems. The real sales activity now is in retaining customers rather than just closing the sales. This relational approach has changed the scope of sales management, and research has found that it costs five times more to register a new customer than to sell a product or service to an existing customer.

As a pan of sales function, the managerial challenge is to improve the productivity and efficiency level of the traditional sales force. But modern sales management is confronted with challenges that affect both productivity and efficiency of its selling approach. In response, newer and better selling techniques and approaches are being used, such as telemarketing, key account management, use of independent sales force, team selling, electronic data interchange (EDI), and application of technology to provide information and services to the customers.

The domain of sales management has become multidisciplinary in which sales managers have to manage a diverse workforce and complex technologies. Sales managers have to perform duties such as recruiting, training, selecting, motivating, forecasting, controlling, and administering salespeople, while performing the primary responsibility of revenue generation for the firms.

They have to manage and satisfy multiple stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, sales representatives, and top management with the objective of increasing sales and profitability. There are guiding principles and concepts in the field of sales and marketing that shape the destiny of sales managers and the domain of knowledge in sales management.

A sales department is the direct link between a company’s product or service and its customers. However, a well-trained sales department does more than making sales. Your sales staff builds relationships with your customers. Further, a quality salesperson helps identify a customer’s unique needs and makes sure that those needs are met. Since salespeople have direct contact with your customers on an ongoing basis, they become privy to personal information that helps make sales interactions smoother and friendlier. A highly trained sales professional tailors sales pitches to the individual customer and learns the ins and outs of their needs.

For example, say you own an office supply business. A customer calls your sales team and says that they need printer paper. The salesperson will ask what type of printer the business is using, how long it takes the office to go through a sheaf of paper and whether they need a higher-quality paper for any reason. A design firm printing work samples might need a higher quality paper than a nonprofit that is only looking to print handouts for meetings. Your salesperson ensures that the customer is getting what they need, in the right volume and at the right price.

Further, a sales department promotes the growth of your business as well as customer retention. A quality salesperson builds an ongoing, long-term relationship with your customers. The importance of personal relationships in business can’t be understated. A personal connection makes customers feel valued and encourages them to remain loyal to your company. Plus, a happy customer will recommend your brand to others.

Roles of a Sales Department

The responsibilities of a sales department are varied. Thus, a sales department is often split up into multiple roles, each with their unique functions:

1. Sales Development Representative

Also called business development representatives, a sales development representative is responsible for step one of the sales process: researching, identifying and contacting leads. This person is often a cold caller or the team member who makes the first contact with a prospective client. Once the customer lead has been identified as a “qualifying lead” (one likely to result in a sale), a sales development representative passes that lead to a higher-level sales representative.

2. Account Executive

The account executive is responsible for bringing in new business and making sales, filling the traditional salesperson role. This person must be a closer since the success of the deal ultimately falls on their shoulders. Account executives create presentations, run demonstrations, write proposals, identify any obstacles to the purchase process, negotiate terms with clients and finally, make the sale.

3. Sales Specialist

A sales specialist has in-depth knowledge of the product and the industry. This is the person you want handling complicated issues or difficult customer questions. A sales specialist is also adept at doing product demonstrations and client proposals. In a sales department, this specialist takes on any complex sales or advanced challenges that come up for the rest of the team.

4. Customer Success Representative

A customer success representative is responsible for following up and renewing sales with customers who have already made purchases. This role is crucial for customer retention and ensuring your business isn’t leaving money on the table. A customer success representative keeps your best customers happy and finds new ways to further the relationship, thus increasing your profits.

5. Sales Manager

The sales manager is the leader of the team, and responsible for making sure the team is meeting their responsibilities and hitting their goals. This person is charged with steering the ship as well as measuring and improving outcomes.

Sales Department Responsibilities

The responsibilities of a sales department vary depending on the business, and how large the team is. However, the first responsibility of a sales department is usually searching for and identifying prospective clients. The next responsibility of the sales department is reaching out to those potential clients and making contact, which is when the relationship-building begins in earnest. A sales representative will identify the needs of the client, and find out any relevant information for making a sale.

Next, the sales department is responsible for delivering presentations and proposals that will convert the customer. For example, say a prospective customer tells your sales representative that he is looking for a new office supplier, but what he needs that others don’t have is a selection of specialty inks. Your sales department now puts together a presentation for the customer that illustrates your wide ink selection. Usually, a team member will also put together a proposal for the business. This individualized courting of clients can help convert leads into long-term customers, so it’s important to get this part right.

If the prospective client is happy with the customer service of the sales staff and the bottom line of the proposal, it’s time to close the deal. Successfully closing sales is another responsibility of the sales staff: processing transactions and ensuring payments run smoothly. Finally, the sales department is responsible for managing customer relationships and keeping customers happy long-term. As previously noted, customer retention is crucial to business profitability, which often falls on the sales team as they continue to follow up with and meet the needs of customers. The sales department must maintain customer relationships and manage the satisfaction of all clients.

Objectives of a Sales Department

A sales department has several objectives, aside from just making sales. Since your sales department is often the link between your customers and the product or service your company offers, there are other necessary functions a sales department must meet:

1. Converting sales

Of course, a sales department’s main objective is to make sales. However, they must also do so efficiently and as inexpensively as possible. It is not enough to collect credit card information and process an order. A sales department is always concerned with improving its conversion rate. A conversion rate is the percentage of customers who complete a sale. So if your sales team speaks to 100 potential customers per day and 20 of those conversations result in a sale, then your team has a 20 percent conversion rate. A well-oiled sales department is always looking for ways to improve its conversion rate. A better conversion means the business spends less money converting each customer, resulting in higher profits.

2. Customer retention

Your sales team is responsible for retaining customers, a monumentally important task. It costs a business five- to-25 times more money to attract new customers than it does to keep existing customers. Research further shows that upping your customer retention rate by only 5 percent can result in increased profits of 25-to-95 percent for your business. It makes sense always to keep your customers happy. This is where your sales team comes in. As the direct point-of-contact for your business, your sales department is building valuable relationships with customers. A sales team that follows up with customers and makes sure they are happy with the product or service you are providing is crucial. Most customers who take their business elsewhere do so quietly, without informing anyone. So one objective of a sales staff is to make sure customers remain happy and continue to do business with your company.

3. Business growth

The sales department is one of the most critical sectors of business for growth. Through relationship-building and keeping customers happy, word-of-mouth recommendations increase. Plus, satisfied customers are usually willing to leave positive reviews for your company online. Reviews are critically important in doing business these days. Prospective clients want to see that you have made other customers happy, and are all too willing to go to your competitors if there is no evidence that you’re doing so. This is why your sales team can help you grow your business. Through outstanding customer service, your customers become loyal and sing your praises to others, bringing in new business. What’s more, a quality sales staff will always be searching for new client leads, further growing your business.

Sales management is defined as the planning, direction, and control of personal selling including recruiting, selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying, and motivating as these tasks apply to personal sales force.

Sales management originally referred exclusively to the direction of the sales force. Later the term took on broader significance in addition to the management of personal selling.

Sales management spe­cifically contributes to achieve the marketing objectives of a firm. In fact, sales managers set their personal selling objectives and formulate the personal selling policies and strategies.

According to American Marketing Association, sales management is “the planning, direction and control of professional selling including recruiting, selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying and motivating to the personal sales force.” It is also often referred to as management of the personal selling part of a company’s marketing function.

Sales is the only function in an organization that generates revenue or income for a company and hence it needs to be managed properly. The financial results of a company depend upon the performance of the sales department.

There are couple of aspects observed that should be motivating for the potential sales people. The first is that sales people are ‘often the best paid people in the business and sales is often considered the fastest and surest route to top management.

It is important for organizations to develop and maintain an effective sales force. This is because a sales manager is not only entrusted with managing the sales force to derive target-based sales outcomes but also perform managerial functions comprising planning the sales efforts and organiz­ing, directing, motivating, coordinating, and controlling the sales force to achieve sales goals. Sales management operates within the periphery of marketing management. In a broad sense, marketing management decides the role of various promotional activities including personal selling.

Sales management is assigned the task of managing the personal selling activities, the results of which ultimately affect the marketing department. Sales management spe­cifically contributes to achieve the marketing objectives of a firm. In fact, sales managers set their personal selling objectives and formulate the personal selling policies and strategies. They prepare the sales budget as components of marketing plans, taking in confidence the broad objectives of the marketing department.

Sales management covers planning and organizing person­al selling activities. It further performs sales force recruiting, selecting, training, assigning, routing, directing, motivating, remunerating, evaluating, and controlling functions of per­sonal selling. Sales management implements the marketing plan to generate sales performance.

Ingram et al. (2007) noted that sales managers are involved in both the strategy (planning) and people (implementation) aspects of personal selling, as well as evaluating and controlling personal selling activities.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines sales management as the planning, direction, and control of personal selling including recruiting, selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying, and motivating as these tasks apply to personal sales force.

Still et al. (1988) illustrated that sales management, originally referred to direc­tion of sales force, later assumed a broader description in addition to management of personal selling to include advertising, sales promotion, marketing research, physical distribution, pricing, and product merchandising. In time, it became more popularly known as marketing management which described the broader concept. So, in simpler terms, sales management is the managerial process of utilizing people and other resources optimally to achieve the goals of an organi­zation in a cost-effective way.

Indeed, the role of sales management becomes more pervasive by finding its importance both within and outside the firm. Within the firm, it builds an organizational structure which allows both formal and informal communication amongst sales and other departments. This also helps in establishing a distribution network outside the company encompassing salespeople and/or intermediaries that serve as a medium to reach target customers.

Sales Management is the planning of a company’s sales strategies and the hiring, training, supervision, and motivation of salesmen to carry out those strategies. As such, it is the key function of the marketing process. Without it, most companies would revert to the simplicities of a hundred years ago, when the emphasis was on manufacturing, and it was considered somewhat immoral for people to buy more than necessary to meet their daily needs.

Objectives of sales management

1. Revenue Generation

One of the main objectives of sales management is to generate revenue for the organization. The sales department is solely responsible to bring in the money.

2. Increase Sales Volume

Through efficient sales management, the organization wishes to increase the number of units sold. This will ensure that the production facilities do not remain idle and are utilized to the fullest.

3. Sustained Profits

Sales management has an objective of improving the profits of the organization through effective planning, coordination and control. Sales management strives to increase sales and reducing costs, this ensures good profits for the organization.

4. Organization Growth

With the sustained and continuous sales management techniques, the organization tends to gain market share and results in growth of the organization.

5. Market Leadership

With increased sales volumes and profits, ‘sales management’ enables an organization to become the market leader.

6. Converting Prospects to Customers

Getting prospects to become customers is an art and a science, it requires good planning and sustained efforts. This is accomplished through sales management.

7. Motivate the Sales Force

One of the core objectives of sales management is to motivate the sales force. Selling is a very stressful task, achieving sales targets can become very challenging. Therefore, the sales management task is to ensure that the sales force is continuously motivated through proper incentives and reward systems.

8. Compliment Marketing Activities

Sales management’s task is to support the marketing functions of the organization. Marketing and sales need to go hand in hand to achieve the desired results.

Sales volume, contribution to profits and growth are the three major objectives the sales function is expected to achieve. Though these are broad corporate functions to be achieved by the top management, sales contribute a great deal in achieving them. Corporate objectives are communicated to the marketing department who in turn passes on the responsibility to the sales department.

These are two approaches to forecasting.

1. Top-down Approach:

In this approach, forecast is done at the corporate level or the strategic level. It starts with a forecast of general economic conditions. It forecasts gross national product, consumer and wholesale price index, interest rates, unemployment level, government expenditures, etc. and estimates the market potential of the product for the entire industry.

Then, it determines its current market share and forecasts success of its product in the market. This forecast is used for operational planning and budgeting the future programmes.

2. Bottom-up Approach:

In this approach, middle and lower-level employees project the business operations in the coming years. For instance, they do customer survey to know what customers want to buy. Such forecasts are made by different sales people which are finally summed up to give the sales forecast.

Usually a questionnaire is mailed or completed through telephonic interview with the prospective customers to make such forecasts. These forecasts are usually reliable for small period of one year.

Channel management involves creating operational strategies that go beyond a single organization. Channel management strategies bring together partners in a supply chain, including material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and resellers, in an effort to lower costs and increase operational efficiency throughout the chain.

Strategic Partnerships

Developing long-term relationships with your suppliers and retail customers is the first step toward effective channel management. Rather than switching suppliers for price discounts and promotional offers, build a solid supplier base by entering into price/volume contracts, cooperative marketing arrangements, inter-company financing arrangements or other activities designed to strengthen your relationships. Develop a loyal reseller base by helping your resellers to market and sell your product effectively. Provide credit arrangements to loyal retail customers, and offer price/volume contracts to your customers as well.

Technology Leveraging

Technological tools can be used to increase efficiency along a supply chain, but dedication and cooperation is required of all parties. Automatic order systems can instantly place orders along the supply chain when stock levels reach economic quantities. Picking, packing and shipping activities can be tied into automatic order systems to further improve efficiency and decrease delivery lead times. Order tracking technology can help individual companies to provide better customer service by knowing exactly when materials and other orders will arrive.

Vertical Integration

Vertical integration is the act of purchasing or building your own suppliers or customers. This technique can be costly and sophisticated compared to others, but vertical integration can provide the most significant cost savings and quality control of all channel management options. Owning your own supplier or retail customer can allow you to set your own prices along the supply chain and exercise total control over operational procedures and quality standards.

Logistical Support

Acting as a consultant to your suppliers and resellers may be one of the most hands-off channel management techniques, but it can still improve efficiency and productivity across the supply chain. Sharing best practices, technological innovations and managerial expertise can help your strategic partners to get their houses in order, resulting in lower prices and higher quality from suppliers, as well as more reliable orders from resellers. Providing marketing materials and sales training to resellers’ employees can help to boost sales for your brands as well.

Monitoring

Continually monitor and assess the performance and progress of your supply chain. Create thorough monitoring systems to accompany each channel management technique, whether it be something as simple as employee and customer surveys or something as complex as statistical reports from a chain-wide automatic order system. Reassess your supply chain strategies regularly and adjust them to respond to changes in the market or in a particular link in the chain.

Channel integration

Supply chain integration is a process where the all the parties involved with the fulfillment of a product are integrated into a single system. This requires significant coordination and alignment in order to ensure everyone is effectively working toward the same goal at all times.

Having the parts required for a product show up where they are needed, when they are needed, helps to not only prevent delays in the manufacturing process, but also eliminates a lot of wasted time, storage space, and more. When done properly, supply chain integration will bring parties that are often at odds together with a single focus.

All of the materials and components from along the supply chain are needed, and by integrating everything into a single system, it is much easier for effective product creation.

Information Sharing in Supply Chain Integration

The concept of supply chain integration goes back many decades, and it has been used by companies around the world to improve their systems dramatically. While there are many different ways that this type of thing can be implemented into a system, one of the most important things regardless of how it is used is going to be information sharing.

When looking at the information sharing of supply chain integration, most companies go through a series of stages once they begin working toward a full supply chain integration. These stages are as follows:

• Baseline: This is the first stage, and it is when every department or system within a company is managing their own supply chain, and related issues. Companies also refer to this as a siloed approach, and while it can have some benefits, it is quite inefficient.
• Functional Integration: In this next stage, all the different departments within a company will work together to help to improve efficiency and reduce cost. This could be done by combining orders, scheduling jobs together, or other important steps.
• Internal Supply Chain Integration: All the departments within a company are connected using the same systems. This will almost always involve using some type of IT infrastructure solution that allows the departments to work efficiently together, share their needs, and identify collaboration opportunities.
• External Supply Chain Integration: The final stage involves external vendors as well as all of the internal departments. Providing a vendor with system access, and encouraging them to function almost as another department helps to generate the best possible results.

Integrating Supply Chains

When it comes to integrating supply chains within a company, there are quite a few things that need to come together. The following are some of the key steps that most companies will need to take during this process:

• Choosing Vendors: Choosing vendors is more than just finding one that can provide the necessary parts. In addition to that, the vendor must be able to supply their piece at the needed time and place based on the overall supply chain.
• Internal Teams: Working with the internal teams of a company to work based on the needs of the overall system rather than just their department. Having set procedures based on the big picture can help to eliminate waste, and improve efficiency.
• Waste Elimination: While often overlooked, waste elimination should be an important part of an effective supply chain integration. This can happen when either a vendor or an internal team will physically relocate in order to more efficiently complete the work that needs to be done.

There are many other things involved with effective supply chain integration. This can seem like a very complex process, and in many ways, it really is. Once the initial integration is completed, the system should run very smoothly for years to come.

In most cases, the initial integration of the supply chain will require that all parties get together to discuss their abilities, as well as their needs. Going over all the logistics in an open environment will help provide everyone the opportunity to make suggestions, express concerns, and overcome obstacles, before it is ever implemented into a production environment.

Supplier Integration

There are many points along the production process where the suppliers and the producers meet. This would be where the suppliers bring specific parts, resources, or other items to the producer for use. Ideally the supplier will deliver their supplies directly to where they are going to be used, or at least as close as possible.

This requires that those who produce products provide their suppliers with more access, training, and other resources than many companies are used to. In essence, this can move the relationship from a supplier-customer relationship to a true partnership.

This often requires some additional investment on the part of the company, and may even mean higher overall prices for the products because more expected from the suppliers. On the surface, this may not seem to make sense, but the added efficiencies can really make this relationship pay off. In addition, when there is a symbiotic partnership between two companies like this, it is much more likely that the supplier will go above and beyond to meet the producer’s needs when things aren’t going according to plan.