It takes more than one person to take a selfie

/* I am copying / paraphrasing the below text from an ad I read. I do this to improve my writing skills. There is no f'ing plagiarism. */

It takes more than oner person to take a selfie. All the tiny and intricate components that go into your phone to create a single shot take a lot of hands to produce. Hands that are fueled by ABC Logistics. Everyday our trucks move goods and deliver millions of pieces to the factories so that those pieces can be put together to able to create a selfie. We manage distribution of products from suppliers to dealers to make sure the latest technology is able in your hands today/

Six Sigma Review - 5th Feb 12

The blog is just about putting my thoughts together of what I have revised until page 66 of the Six Sigma Handbook - Thomas Pzydek and Paul Keller

1) Understanding customer needs - Through surveys, focus groups and customer panels.

Surveys - Using Critical Incident technique is important to form surveys. You may even have to do a survey to form a proper questionnaire.

Focus Groups - Key challenge is that the focus group experts may get carried away during the discussion and the interviewer has to keep them aligned and 'focused' on the topic of discussion

Customer Panel - This is something new I learnt. Basically you just email the survey questionnaire to representative group or give them phone calls and get their inputs/answers.

KANO MODEL is another interesting model or thinking. The chart or model doesn't help much. It is a chart of quality vs satisfaction. I do not understand the second quadrant - negative/poor quality and high satisfaction. I believe the line should be absent. Even though it is above the expected quality line, it does convey the fact, that quality is great.

QFD: I am beginning to quite like it and would love to apply it on a project. I think its very powerful and provides great insights to product development

1. Start with customer requirements

2. Identify functional requirements

3. List Parts characteristics

4. Design Manufacturing environment

5. Manage production operations

The CUSASA principle

Remember the 'CUSASA' principle to have good relationship with your customers
Be Creative
Understand customer's business
Be simple
Be Accountable
Take customer's side
Be Accessible

Three good rules of holding successful meeting

Rule 1: Make sure you want quality over consensus.
Do not try to come to a solution that pleases everyone. Choose a solution that is effective and will get the problem solved

Rule 2: Have an idea but be receptive
Having your own idea is wonderful but never get locked up on it. Be receptive to others and be willing to accept conflicting or better ideas

Rule3: Listen but don't get fixed
When you dont have a point, be a good listener. Do not take sides, try to synthesize others point and try to give your own opinion

Random thoughts

This post is just going to be a random scribble since I don't have any good topic mind. Ever since read my this month's horoscope think I have become a little complacent, over confident that the things will automatically fall in place. Though things do automatically fall in place and I have no control over them, the anxiety of the things that may come in near future (or may not) have diverted my attention to concentrate on the real things on hand. But then again such is mind!

My countdown has started and I probably have around 360 days to find something for myself. This actually translates into almost 720 applications ( at least) and it would be a shame if I can not convert a single. Hopes are still high for this and even a day is enough for that significant change to happen.

I felt my brain come to life after I started my CFA studies again. It had been in hibernation since the last 3 months and with the lethal combination of sudoku and CFA, I am confident to revive my intelligent self.

I have no time to waste, lest my deadline shall pass and then..you never know..

Supply Chain Finance

I will quickly try to draft the main points of the recorded webcast - Supply Chain finance

1. Since the credit crisis, our distributors and other channel partners obviously dont have much access to the credit the way they used to have before crisis. It is our responsibility that we help them grow or sustain their business while not blowing our balance sheet

2. The goal is not have lowest inventory levels or the lowest logistics related cost but to have the most optimized "overall financial performance" - revenue growth, operating margin and capital utilization (cash operating cycle, fixed asset utlization)

3. Have to look at the factors or KPIs from an enterprise wise perspective

4. Supply Chain value added = supply chain benefits (point 2) - supply chain costs (transporation, warehouse, administration, labour, working capital finance charge)

5. What we improve supply chain - it will increase revenues, decrease labour cost, decrease logistics cost, decrease inventory levels

6. Great savings can be achieved by reducing inventory, reducing days of sales outstanding, reducing operating expenses, days purchase outstanding,

7. You have got debt, equity and the supply chain cost of capital

HOW TO IDENTIFY IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

1. Identify financial driver gap
2. Identify business process gaps
3. Supply chain enhancing initiatives
4. Map the business processes with the KPIs to be achieved ***

8. By paying the suppliers earlier, you are subsidising their liquidity and then they use the same money to purchase goods from your competitors

9. Use the "power of one" - aha moment

10. ALIGN GOALS, ALIGN STRATEGY, ALIGN RESOURCES

yet another

Once again I have failed to keep my promise of a-blog-a-day supposed to help improve my writing and thinking skills. Anyway I have come back and will scribble a few lines about the things that happened in the past few days.

I have been keeping up with my French lessons and I really hope to master the language in an years' time. Though not difficult, I need to keep good amount of motivation to achieve the same. Bonjour Monseiur !!

Things are moving slow with respect to the job hunt but I have my trust in Suzanne. Somethings gonna come from somewhere and I just have to keep my hopes high and keep trying. Gladly, I have no feelings of jealously and enviousness that my other classmates are doing significantly well and in fact I am happy for them.

I take it as a challenge and an opportunity to prove my worth to others and do even better.

I guess this is it for this time and I hope to come back more often!