Some backgroung first.
I have never worked in a manufacturing environment, although
I did spend a summer working on a Gallus press. I have never attended or
participated in APICS, CSCMP or any other class usually associated with supply chain professional accreditation. I wasn’t a math major and up until a few years ago if someone said they have a degree in OR I would have assumed their sheepskin was a B.S. in Operating Room.
So with that apparent lack of practical experience is it
possible to be credible with an Advanced Planning & Scheduling professional?
Between the no and the yes, I believe the honest response lies
somewhere in the middle, or stated another way, it depends on who you’re dealing
with. I had an actual experience with a seasoned scheduling pro that upon the
first minute of discovery I was on speed dial to my wingman Bob, the expert in
all things scheduling. And that was the right call. It was clear he was more
comfortable talking “shop” with someone he felt was a peer.
Conversely, I was on a call recently were the last thing to
be discussed were the multitude of problems they were having with reacting to
changes in the schedule. What the customer did want to talk about was how, because
of the daily fire drill he keeps missing his son’s ball games.
So to those scheduling professionals, how do you measure
whether the sales person from vendor XYZ.com possesses the credibility or
scheduling knowledge you’re comfortable with? And to what degree does it matter
if they’ve walked in your shoes or not.