Within a logistics environment there is often a need for the specialist skills and experience of a Logistics Project Manager.
Physical supply chains tend to be complex and finely tuned; operating to tight financial and time pressures to deliver customer service. Making changes usually comes with risks. Whilst relatively simple ones can often deliver significant bottom line improvement, poorly executed projects may not realise the full benefits, fall short of embedding the required process, or even lead to service failure.
Given the investment of time and resources committed to the changes, and the potential return from successful initiation, it makes good commercial sense to commit to delivering their benefits in full and permanently.
What are the benefits of appointing a Logistics Project Manager?
For a number of reasons it can be appropriate to appoint a specialist Logistics Project Manager to lead change in the supply chain. The alternative is often to hand the task to a line manager. Even with the right skills, passing a change project to someone in a predominantly reactive role can be highly problematic.
- A specialist logistics project manager brings dedicated resource, key skills and experience to the process and management of change. They are able to assess the process required in the context of the existing overall picture of operational demands and resource availability. Developing or revising a project plan to recognise the risks, requirements, and the interaction of the change with the live operation. As operational needs are regularly subject to short term change, they are required to be able to adapt plans quickly and at short notice to ensure that the operation and project do not conflict with each other.
- It is a role that requires leadership, clarity, analysis, and judgement under pressure – as well as being able to draw on lessons learnt from multiple previous experiences.
- Even if the operational line manager has the required skill set (which is more often not the case) their role is a highly reactive one - it is challenging to find dedicated and uninterrupted time to dedicate to a project. The operation will always take preference when it comes to responding urgently in a fast moving environment to deliver KPIs on a daily basis. Issues can be exacerbated if operational performance dips as the existing manager focuses too much on the project at the outset. Returning to fix the operation, and having to play catch up with both, neither goes well.
- The return on investment of a specialist logistics project manager is often compelling: A significant reduction of risks to operational service levels during the project and timely execution are obvious advantages. The real long term benefit though is the full embedding of the changes into the operational processes with a workforce that has bought into them, and has the skills and training plan to do so.
- It is very common for projects to be ultimately implemented only in theory rather than in practice; to an extent that within months there is drift back to the original starting point. Avoiding this is the key benefit of specialist logistics project management – committed resource to ensure that the significant investment was worthwhile and the full operational benefits are realised.
Davies & Robson provide logistics project management specialists as part of our interim management service.