The global COVID pandemic has changed the way many supply chain management teams operate, elevating the importance of communication. Effective internal team communication can significantly affect supply chain success and team failure.
Effective communication is a vital component of business success. Grammarly recently conducted a study that found that companies lose $1.2 trillion annually due to poor communication in the workplace.
Supply chain managers are under significant pressure, leading to losses. The rise of the global pandemic has forced many supply chain teams to alter their operations due to staffing shortages and delivery delays. As a result, communication in supply chain management has become essential.
Importance of Communication in Supply Chain Management and Logistics
Supply chain management involves planning, implementing, and controlling the flow of goods, services, information, etc., from the suppliers of raw materials to the final consumers.
Supply chain management is a complex process. Proper communication is required to complete tasks accurately.
Communication is critical to supply chain success for several reasons: coordination and collaboration, demand forecasting, quality control, customer satisfaction and efficiency.
Coordination and cooperation
The supply chain spans multiple industries, including:
- suppliers;
- manufacturers;
- distributors;
- retailers.
Effective communication is essential to ensure all these parts of the business run smoothly. Communicating each area's needs and capabilities allows for improved coordination and collaboration throughout the supply chain.
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Demand prognosis
Accurate demand planning is essential for efficient and precise supply chain management for carriers. Every aspect of the business must be appropriately covered, including:
- sales;
- production planning;
- business operations management.
Sales managers must understand their customers and how much product they will order. Communication between sales and production planners is necessary to facilitate forecasting of future demand. This helps plan inventory and production, reducing the risk of over-forecasting (over-supply) or under-forecasting (under-supply).
Quality control
Requirements and quality standards must be communicated at every stage of the supply chain to ensure that products meet quality standards.
Effective communication helps maintain consistent quality and satisfaction between the product manufacturer and the end consumers.
Managing interdepartmental teams
Supply chain management aims to be as efficient as possible. To establish and maintain this efficiency, teams from different countries must communicate while still working in different time zones and having different professional priorities.
Knowledge of the language is helpful for:
- mediators in communication between teams;
- solutions to misunderstandings;
- proper explaining to team members their direct responsibilities;
- effective conducting online meetings.
The better supply chain managers know foreign languages, the more effective their teams will be.
Customer Satisfaction
The primary purpose of the supply chain is customer satisfaction. When communication is effective, it provides:
- accurate order processing;
- quick resolution of any questions/problems.
When customers are happy, they are more likely to remain loyal. Moreover, satisfied repeat customers bring profit to any business.
Adaptability
Market conditions and customer requirements are constantly changing. Effective communication allows the supply chain to adapt quickly to these changes. This adaptability is critical to remaining competitive in the marketplace, especially in an environment of constant change.
Negotiation
Negotiating with large suppliers and retailers is essential for a supply chain manager. Knowledge of languages and the ability to express oneself clearly will be crucial advantages. It is also helpful for reading contracts.
Managers need to monitor:
- reasonable prices and payment terms;
- logistics and processing of overdue deliveries;
- fines for non-compliance with the contract;
- quality standards.
Negotiating and reading contracts in the original language can provide an undeniable advantage and ensure business partners' loyalty.
How does language help in managing operations?
Supply chain management is closely related to communication with different participants in the supply chain, so, unsurprisingly, knowledge of languages is essential, and employees who know foreign languages are precious.
The manufacturing process is one of the most complex parts of the supply chain and, therefore, receives significant attention.
Knowing a foreign language can help simplify communication, help one understand what is happening, and benefit from interaction with partners.
Understanding the final product design
The product's design determines how much customers will like it, which will affect the level of sales and the seller's image.
Communication with the designer will allow managers to convey the basic requirements for the product to them and direct their work in the right direction to achieve the goal.
Speaking with a designer in the same language, management can:
- brainstorm and exchange ideas;
- participate in the product creation process;
- understand spontaneous decisions and their significance for the company.
In addition, the manager can confidently meet the necessary standards regarding the quality of materials, waste, production time or other important details.
A manager communicating with designers through a translator significantly increases the risk of misunderstanding and misinterpretation, which leads to problems.
Problem-solving
The operations manager must ensure the continuity of the production process so that the supply chain runs like clockwork. But problems tend to arise, and they need to be resolved immediately.
For example:
- equipment may fail;
- raw materials do not reach the manufacturer on time;
- products do not meet quality standards;
- untimely deliveries of products to warehouses and further along the supply chain.
If all these problems occur in another country, they can be multiplied by two. Therefore, if a manager knows a foreign language, they can quickly respond to a problem and begin to act. The language barrier and the involvement of a translator will slow down the process and may aggravate the situation.
This is why it is vital to communicate directly with decision-makers in their native language.
Ensuring economic efficiency
An operations manager's job is to create a cost-effective and efficient supply chain.
To do this, a manager needs:
- conduct market research;
- get the correct numbers;
- transfer the research results to other responsible persons.
Clear communication is key at all communication stages. Misunderstandings or ambiguous messages can ultimately disrupt understanding of the situation, leading to false research results, which will cost businesses a lot of money.
This is why it is essential to communicate with participants in the same language. Especially if a manager needs:
- develop a cost-reduction plan;
- draw up a plan for the distribution of personnel and materials;
- negotiate prices for materials or products.
As a result, communication in one language will provide undeniable advantages and excellent results in achieving the company's goals without unnecessary problems and misunderstandings.
Where to start learning a new language?
If you are a manager in supply chain management, language skills are a top priority. To start learning a language, you need:
- understand what language you need to learn;
- install a language app to get started;
- find a language course online or offline;
- hire a personal teacher;
- find websites to support language learners;
- attend social clubs.
It might be a good idea to practice the language in the form of:
- watching foreign films, listening to music;
- having conversations with a native speaker;
- writing essays and much more.
Knowledge of a foreign language is a huge advantage when working as a supply chain or operations manager. Communicating with many people in different countries is a complex and responsible task, which is easier to cope with if the manager can communicate freely.
So, if you work in this field and know that there is a language that will help improve your work and the company's performance, start learning it and polishing your skills as early as possible. There are many ways to learn languages now, so you should choose and practice on your own.
