CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA – November 20, 2023 – In a business landscape characterized by unprecedented business volatility, maintaining stellar customer service emerges as a critical differentiator for companies navigating the ebbs and flows of the current market. Manufacturing and Supply Chain Consultant Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP, CLTD and President of LMA Consulting Group Inc., highlights the pivotal role of backlog management in elevating customer service levels, especially significant in a landscape where 88% of buyers, according to Salesforce, deem experience as crucial as the product or service being offered. LMA Consulting Group specializes in supporting manufacturers and distributors in strategic planning and comprehensive supply chain transformation, focusing on enhancing the customer experience and robust business growth.
The decline in customer service, a nearly 20% drop according to Forrester, coupled with diminished customer patience, has spotlighted opportunities for companies to prioritize superior service. This is where proactive backlog management plays a vital role, ensuring high service levels, on-time-in-full (OTIF) delivery, short lead times and preemptive communication.
Backlog management can encompass a myriad of statuses and potential scenarios during order fulfillment, ranging from inventory shortages to waiting on customer approvals, purchase receipts, production engineering, international shipping paperwork or even dealing with credit holds and quality controls. “One of the secrets to success in enhancing service levels lies in implementing a proactive backlog management process. Transitioning from reactive to proactive stances can swiftly elevate customer service levels. We have seen it with a building products manufacturer where service levels increased from 38% to 90% by adopting a forward-looking view and assigning orders with tight timelines to specific people or departments to ensure on time fulfillment. We had an aerospace manufacturer elevate service levels from the low 60%s to the low 90%s by implementing a backlog process that tracked progress through multiple steps of the manufacturing process, adding capacity where needed, and introducing advanced technology solutions. It can be done and it delivers results.” states Ms. Anderson.
For deeper insights into navigating the complex landscape of global supply chains, download Ms. Anderson’s special report The Road Ahead: Business, Supply Chain & The World Order and her eBook SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning): Creating Predictable Revenue and EBITDA Growth.
About LMA Consulting Group – Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP, CLTD
Lisa Anderson is the founder and president of LMA Consulting Group, Inc., specializing in manufacturing strategy and end-to-end supply chain transformation. Ms. Anderson is a recognized Supply Chain thought leader by SelectHub, named a Top 40 B2B Tech Influencer by arketi group, a Top 16 ERP Expert to Follow by Washington-Frank, in the Top 10 Women in Supply Chain by Warner PR, in the top 55 Supply Chain & Logistics Experts by flexport, and a woman leader in Supply Chain by RateLinx. Her primer, I’ve Been Thinking, provides strategies for creating bold customer promises and profits. An expert on the SIOP process (Sales, Inventory Operations Planning), advancing innovation, and making the supply chain resilient, Ms. Anderson is regularly interviewed and quoted by publications such as Industry Week, Bloomberg, Fox News and The Wall Street Journal. For information, sign up for her Profit Through People® Newsletter or for a copy of her book, visit LMA-ConsultingGroup.com.
###
Media Contact Kathleen McEntee | Kathleen McEntee & Associates, Ltd. | p. (760) 262 – 4080 | KMcEntee@KMcEnteeAssoc.com