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If you’ve ever gone to a baseball game then you’ve enjoyed the crack of the bat, the call of the umpire, the peanuts and hotdogs. But did you ever stop to think about all the logistics management that goes into a winning ball club? It’s the same kind of logistics management you can apply to you own business. The principles are identical; it’s just the moving parts that are different.
A baseball coach applies logistics management every time he prepares a line up for a game. First he has to assess the strengths and weaknesses of his players on that particular day. He makes an informed assessment when provided with updates from his coaching staff. Sound familiar? You can’t really know what’s happening with the progress of a particular project unless you are in coordination with the staff members you’ve delegated assignments to. Or, if you have delegated your order fulfillment to a third party fulfillment center you can’t know the status of orders until you check the order and shipment reports.
Once the coach has his info, he’ll create a line up that plays to those strengths while constantly keeping an eye on the ball for any adjustments as game play dictates. Logistics management means the coach is prepared for what’s thrown at him. You should too because no matter how well thought out your plans could be, there is always the unknown factor such as nature, politics and the rise and flow of the economy that have a direct impact on your company. Applying logistics management techniques means you’ll be ready for any emergency.
Even before the players take to the field, the coach has used logistics management. This occurs during practice when players might reveal hidden talents or scouts might encourage a minor league player to be brought up to the big show. At your company you’ll want to reward creativity, leadership and innovation. What makes your staff look good will ultimately make you look good.
Win or lose, the coach’s job isn’t over when the last out is called. This is when he needs to reassess everything that went down in the game. If he won, then he might opt to keep things rolling as they are. However if he lost, then it might be time for changes. How will these changes impact his team? He needs to think about the situation logically. After making changes, it’s back up to bat for another game. Logistics management means you are creating a perfect model for the execution of your company’s goals. But it doesn’t mean becoming stagnant. Once you’ve achieved success you can use great supply chain management skills to do it every time you step up to bat!
