Counterpoint Podcast

Building any sort of loyalty in a competitive market is extremely difficult, and even more so when it comes to a commodity business. Let's hear from Mr. Siddharth Bansal, Director, Skipper Limited on how they transformed the distribution model of their polymer business-Skipper Pipes, in order to secure loyalty of channel members and influencers in the market. We discuss the challenges they faced i...

In the last episode, we had discussed about the last mile obstacle in any typical retail environment, responsible for companies hitting a glass ceiling after achieving an initial jump in revenue and profitability by abandoning "push" mode of sales and implementing pull-based replenishment systems. We had also promised to share the solution to this obstacle so that companies can have a continuous a...

The retail solution that Vector Consulting Group has implemented for its clients allows them to enjoy phenomenal growth in secondary sales. However, this pull-based replenishment flow system often hits a new saturation point every so often, which calls for a shift in the approach to unlock the next growth area. This episode on the Counterpoint Podcast is the first part of a two-episode series on t...

Ensuring fast NPD or New Product Development is one of the most important activities for any organization to sustain and grow. However, despite implementing the latest project management software and techniques, interruptions, rework, and lead-times for project completion remains high in environments with very high scope variability. Many CCPM implementations fail as well. This episode on the Coun...

Let's hear from Mr. R V Gumaste, MD, KFIL about how they sustained the innovative pull-based flow processes in manufacturing and new product development for 7 years without any violations. We discuss what challenges did they faced in implementing and sustaining the new processes.  Tune in! For more details, visit: https://vectorconsulting.in

In an earlier episode, we had touched upon the challenges faced by the OEMs in managing spare parts availability for servicing vehicles. In that discussion, we had identified the core problem behind this challenge. In this episode, we try to counter the conflict with a sustainable solution that enables higher availability and parts sales at much lower inventory as compared to the conventional way...

In the last episode, we had looked at the troubles a job shop faces day-in-day-out. We also looked at the core conflicts behind these problems and ended the discussion with understanding why the most common solutions implemented to solve these concerns end up in further trouble. This episode is the second part of the same discussion to discuss what are some of the most concrete solutions which not...

Job Shops are one of the most complex manufacturing environments to manage. With frequent  expediting, month end skew, delayed customer orders, and poor coordination between functions, many job shops are wrought with challenges and complications. In a bid to solve these, companies commonly alternate between solutions like capacity enhancement, line dedication and finite scheduling software but for...

Imagine buying a vehicle and then facing high waiting time for servicing and repairs! Availability of Spares play a major role in the time it takes to get a vehicle out of the service station. Unfortunately, managing inventory of a huge range of spare parts is an Achilles heel for most OEMs. This episode takes a deep dive into the challenges faced by the OEMs and by extension everyone in the suppl...

Manufacturing industries are marred by many common problems which obstructs flow of inventory like unreliable vendors, frequently missing components for manufacturing, inventory pileups, shifting bottlenecks and finally unhappy customers. In this episode with Mr. Sharan Bansal, Director at Skipper Limited, we discuss the learnings from a transformation of the operating model that was undertaken at...

We had discussed problems with the current system of financial decision-making across companies in an earlier episode. In this episode we discuss why it is crucial for all organisational decisions to be taken with a clear assessment of their global impact on the firm. Also discussed is, why the techniques like marginal-costing and absorption-costing, does not suffice for this purpose. A new method...

'Is leadership an art or a science?' is a perennial debate. A leader's true nature is witnessed at times of transformation and the challenges it brings along. In this episode, we discuss and analyze why Leadership is a science and not an art and also go further to describe the three important tactics to be effective as a leader. Tune in! You can also check out the link below, for more on Kiran's v...

Causal reasoning behind problems in organisations can reveal a circular loop structure, where A causes B but at same time B also boomerangs back to A at some point. Some of these loops can be very "sticky", forcing an organisation to stay with the same problems for a long period. If transformation initiatives ignore the existing causal loops at play, there can be a huge waste of time and...

This episode on the Counterpoint Podcast focuses on the decision making with financial implications. When it comes to anything financial, organisations typically depend on a department specialised in it - the finance department. Dr. Anil Lamba, a financial literacy activist, discusses with us how this fact is the very reason why companies, at times, take disastrous decisions. Listen to this episod...

This episode explores the concept of constraints within complex systems. It highlights how constraints are often mistaken for generalobstacles, and why it's crucial to distinguish between the two. By identifying the true limiting factor in a system, we can better understand its purpose and focus efforts on leveraging that constraint to improve overall performance. The discussion emphasises str...

We received a lot of requests to share some client stories and learnings from their business transformation journeys. So, here we are with Mr. Anil Mathur, COO at Godrej Interio. He talks about how they solved the perennial conflict for sales bandwidth between converting current enquiries and developing new leads by releasing significant capacity for business development from the existing team.  I...

Chronic problems stay unresolved due to inherent conflicts in resolving them. Conflicts manifests as design contradictions (example: fuel efficiency vs power) or in interpersonal issues (I want to do x, while my partner doesn’t want to do it). Is there an approach to resolve these conflicts and contradictions? What kind of mindset is required to deal with conflicts and contradictions? This episode...

Multitasking is considered an important skill to achieve more in less time. But is it really the most effective way to get more output? The episode takes a deep dive into this topic and includes an interesting DIY activity to help you check if Multi-tasking does or does not work. Keep a pen, paper, and your phone ready before you begin listening. Tune in and enjoy! Another example of how multi-tas...

We have either mentioned or discussed the supplier bullwhip effect in many of our previous episodes, especially the ones around the supply chain and operations solutions. We received many messages from our fellow listeners, and so we thought it high time we must take this topic up. Supplier Bullwhip is basically an ill effect of a supply chain practice of OEMs who use a combination of monthly fore...

In the last few episodes on the Thinking Processes series, we have discussed how the philosophy goes to the deepest level of a problem at hand, how it builds the logic around it and how it identifies the root cause to take a stab at it. Hence, it makes an extremely helpful tool for anyone, especially managers and leaders. However, it takes some amount of practice to become proficient in using the...

Many plants are often marred by poor efficiencies, late deliveries, and a perpetual fire-fighting mode. After decades of efforts, most of them have given up on solving the chronic problem. But there is a way out, an easy one, if one can understand the core conflict. This episode takes through understanding of the problems, core reasons for these problems and solutions which can literally turn arou...

Find out how to overcome bias in decision making by using the right thougt-ware. Bad decisions can have long standing consequences. So, in order to avoid bias, managers tend to rely on data. Unfortunately, data is does not always help differentiate between truth and perception. For instance, two managers might have two different interpretations of the same data; or two opposing views can have full...

JIT is a methodology first developed and implemented in the 70's at Toyota Manufactuing Plant. Since then, it has been replicated and implemented across various manufacturing and supply chain companies across the word. All in a bid to keep their operations lean and reduce the failures, delays and cost stuck up in inventory or other resources. However, with uncertainities and high demand variabilit...

If we can identify the problem, we can solve it! However, the challenge with most root cause analysis techniques is that it is difficult to tell if you have reached the real root cause or not, especially since after some layers, data may not be available to observe the causal entity directly. So, most analyses are unknowingly limited to a superficial point! Thinking Processes tools takes a very di...

Tune in to find out how we can think clearly and develop breakthrough solutions. Being a physicist Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt adopted the traditions, constructs, and rigor of the hard sciences, when he introduced a set of thinking tools to serve as a framework to raise questions regarding existing paradigms, identify problems in any environment (not necessarily business), converge on to the root cause o...