On target delivery
As Project Managers our business is project delivery. However some external suppliers are more reliable than others so here are 10 tips to ensure success:-
1) At the first sign of trouble arrange to have a face to face meeting with your supplier. It doesn’t matter if they are on the other side of the world, clear a space in the diary, book the flights and get in front of them. It will be worth every penny.
2) Raise your concerns in an open, honest none aggressive manner. By all means express your irritation but don’t blow your top – you will make yourself look foolish and unprofessional.
3) Identify the key stakeholders within your own organization who share an interest in the project.
4) Identify the key stakeholders in the supplier organization who share an interest in delivering the project.
5) Break the task down into manageable chunks and identify responsibility for each sub-task.
6) Insist the supplier provide a daily report of activity to be delivered at a specific time. This report should include a simple graphical representation (such as a bullseye chart) to indicate days ahead or days behind schedule. It should also stipulate actions required and responsibility. This report should be circulated to all key stakeholders. Accept no excuses for late or none delivery of this key report.
7) Following the face-to-face have a daily conference call. Do this whether there are any issues or not. 2 minutes passing the time of day reminds the supplier they are uppermost in your mind.
8) Identify Carrots and Sticks. What penalty clauses can you invoke ? What are the opportunities of new business ? Identifying them gives you additional leverage.
9) Make it easy for them – have they got a spec, is it up to date, is it comprehensive enough, do they understand exactly what is required ?
10) Don’t assume everything is the fault of the supplier, have you communicated clearly and concisely what your expectations are ? Have you paid each milestone on time ? Is the SOW & Contract clear ?
Some suppliers are always easier to deal with than others but employing the above tips should help. Have you got any more you could share ?
The news today that Toyota plans on recalling several hundred Prius due to brake problems follows hot on the heels of rumours last week that 19 people had died due to faulty accellerator pedals on Toyota vehicles in the U.S.A alone.
Sometimes, despite best efforts at Risk Management, we drift off plan. In the worst case this means we won’t be able to meet our customer commitments.
Once the plan is in place & agreed the project then moves into the execution phase. This is when things really start happening and, if the planning has been done properly, things should proceed according to plan – right ?……Wrong !!