Ahh, N'awlins. Wait, why are we here?
The Client
Our client has a strong legacy as a consumer goods company with highly effective and profitable means of procurement, manufacturing, distributing, and branding its products. The company was undergoing some major internal shifts to stay competitive, including a mandate for each function to innovate and find new ways to deliver value.
Some Background
What does innovation mean for a function like procurement? How can leaders help employees, who think they're tethered by prescriptive policies and processes, see where or how innovation is relevant to them?
Employees wrestle with many things around innovation:
Highly tenured employee bases often value infrastructure, process, and risk mitigation. They operate by best practices, and are comfortable performing their jobs in a certain way.
One kink, break, or gap in supply chains can have long-lasting and broad-reaching implications for price, product, reputation, quality and brand. This makes the notion of experimenting very scary.
Decision life cycles can be long and complex, which can make experimentation tricky.
Internal communication to stakeholders and clients is increasingly important to avoid being seen as gatekeepers and police.
Employees are challenged to help supplier partners innovate without making them feel that their heritage is under attack.