Bad system, lost business opportunities

Here’s another example of how a bad system can cause more trouble than you can imagine. It came from American management theorist W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993), who said, “A bad system can beat a good person all the time.” In the corporate world, that means it is imperative to have a perfect system to ensure that good managers can do their jobs right.

Otherwise, a bad system can hinder managerial efforts no matter how they dribble you with fancy strategies that complicate matters. It’s easy to understand this. Deming’s philosophy emphasizes that even those with MBAs or doctorate degrees can be easily defeated by a flawed system.

A recent case in point is when I attempted to hire the services of a major courier and logistics service provider to bring a lightweight brown envelope to a client in Rosario, Cavite. Let’s call them CLS Express, for short. I had their stick-on address label complete with both the sender’s and recipient’s respective addresses and mobile contact numbers all done.

However, the branch clerk wanted us to include the barangay where the addressee, a multinational factory in an export processing zone, is located. CLS’s computer system requires that information, which seems quite reasonable at first glance. I tried to contact the recipient without success as it was a Saturday, a non-working day for them.

So, I decided to let it go. On the following Sunday, thinking that it was an open item on my “to-do list,” I opted to hire a Lalamove driver who responded as soon as I clicked their button for a “priority fee.” The driver came in about five minutes, paid him P250, and off he went to the designated place.

The price was a bit higher than the P200 delivery fee charged by CLS.

But that’s nothing because I want to settle everything in a flash. And I can’t blame CLS’s branch clerk. She was dutifully following instructions. There was no way for her to violate their policy and risk losing that brown envelope containing the original copy of a seminar certificate, which has no commercial value, anyway.

Solution

I can see an easy solution for CLS, assuming they’re willing to listen and solve such a problem, given the rumor that it is shedding off some jobs. The immediate solution is to authorize their branch clerks to do a manual override of their system so they can service all delivery requests. If banks can do an override, then why can’t a courier service like CLS?

But that’s not all. All service clerks should be required to report all overrides for analysis. That way, they should have a clear understanding of the problem, no matter how insignificant it may appear to management. Unless they allow that manual override, they’ll never know the extent of its problem.

So, why does CLS need the barangay location for their system? Lalamove has successfully delivered my package fast (in less than two hours) and easily without that extra information. Under the waste elimination framework, this is called “extra-processing.”

Suppose that CLS knows this issue and decides to ignore it because it is too trivial for them, how many years would Lalamove need before it takes a bold expansion and seizes industry lead? In the same vein, why would Toyota, the world’s most valuable auto brand with a market capitalization of $236.24 billion as of September 2024 still require its workforce to focus on perpetual waste elimination, even covering trivial things?

Now, here comes a bystander like me comparing an apple with an orange. Or is it? But look. Waste elimination is a universal principle that knows no boundaries. It applies to all types of business, big and small.

Good results mean an eagle-eye focus on waste elimination, among other business strategies with bad results as natural by-products of ignored small issues that became seriously large.

Talk of what American political philosopher Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) said when he cautioned us that “a small leak will sink a great ship.”

This is to emphasize that what appears to be insignificant issues can accumulate and may lead to financial ruin if ignored and left unsolved in time.

Worker participation

Unfortunately, Franklin’s adage is not always being followed to its letter and spirit until it’s too late. But who’s to blame here – management, their workers, or both? Sometimes, for ordinary workers, choosing not to act can mean an easy choice. If management is not too concerned about it, then why should the workers be concerned about it?

Consider these statements from management: We’re losing money due to a lack of customers. What can we do about it? What would you request your workers to do? The list could be endless starting with the following: One, do waste elimination activities starting with a low-hanging fruit like energy conservation.

Mandate everyone to switch off the lights during lunch breaks. And turn off the air-conditioning system 30 minutes early before the close of office hours.

Two, suggest revenue-generating ideas with the help of kaizen teams. Ask everyone to become proactive problem-solvers by identifying all issues and solving them using low-cost or common-sense solutions. If a sophisticated approach is needed, no matter how complex it sounds, it would not be helpful, no matter how you paralyze yourself with overthinking.

In conclusion, never leave home without paying attention to minute details. This simple advice can grease the wheels of critical thinkers.

Rey Elbo is a quality and productivity improvement enthusiast. Consult him for his management insights. Email [email protected] or via https://reyelbo.com. Anonymity is guaranteed.