We finally got going (sailing that is) yesterday when the wind dropped to a breezy Force 4 on the beam (that’s from the side) - wonderful sailing weather. And it was marvellous – whizzing along at 7-8 knots.
Mind wandering territory again ... blogging duties ....
As I had to fall back onto Plan B the day before, that involved absolutely no sailing whatsoever, I started to think about Sailing & S&OP again. Are there any similarities or was I just going stir crazy waiting for the wind to drop?
So here again are the basics:
The demand side – I have an eager family (customers) waiting to be satisfied.
The supply side – I have a boat to transport said family.
I have a plan to sail to Italy & back.
So what about measuring our success? What are the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to our trip?
First let’s define the customer – easy - wife & children. Done.
Now there is customer service & satisfaction. How do we measure that? How do I keep my wife & children ‘satisfied’ and on a boat? Mmmm? Surely this is Noble prize territory if I can crack it. Tricky – leave it for now.
On the other hand, how do I keep the costs to a bearable minimum? This is sailing after all, & as I think Ted Heath once said (I paraphrase) – sailing is like taking a shower with £20 notes.
So I am left with the dilemma of balancing (optimising) customer service & cost. So there is an S&OP comparison after all. S&OP is all about such optimisation.
Let’s try to define the tricky issue of customer service. Consider today’s passage from Port Napoleon eastwards – no specific destination in mind. I hereby present a ‘Customer Service KPI Hierarchy’ for the sailing fraternity.
- Arriving before the shops close (really wanted to get to Marseille but decided upon Sausset-les-Pins as trip shorter & family started to get fed up after about 3 hours) – Mike awarded maximum points, family happy & satisfied.
- Arriving today (in Marseille) – Mike awarded some points (Port Napoleon was getting tiresome after all), family content but green around the gills.
- Arriving this week – Mike awarded zero points as fed up to the back teeth with Port Napoleon. This was supposed to be a sailing holiday & although no control over weather, I should have thought of that before deciding upon a sailing holiday. And it cost a lot of money ....
More later ... I am warming to the theme, if not to the task in hand .... satisfying the family that is.
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