The RMC industry operates under a broad set of circumstances which has manifested itself in one of the most dynamic logistical environments on the planet. One phone call can derail everything, “the perfect plan,” that was so meticulously crafted by the ready-mix scheduler the evening before, can evaporate in a second.
RMC producers control only a portion of their daily operations, and outside forces generally control the day, putting producers in a seemingly constant reactive state of “controlled chaos.” As the day progresses, static schedules become dynamic in the sense that orders are added, canceled, and updated frequently. Customer jobsite performances will inevitably impact the schedule as well, putting dispatchers to the test.
RMC producers must have well-defined operational goals to be best of breed. They strive to deliver high-quality products to the customer, at an agreed time, and in a safe & efficient manner. Producer constraints are common and similar input costs are assumed within competitive markets. Tedious, redundant, and manual tasks tend to bog down dispatchers and plant operators, negatively impacting plant production levels while impacting key performance indicators.
It comes down to whom can best manage their logistics. This is absolutely your primary potential competitive advantage; it must be mastered with operating costs hovering around $2 USD per minute. Leveraging the concept of “Operational Excellence” (OE) to establish a clear and defined path to become best of breed in the industry is critical.
OE is best described as creating an environment where employee engagement is fostered, new concepts are considered for implementation therefore creating a healthy rapport within the organization. Empowered employees perform at a higher level, therefore creating stronger profitability, enhanced efficiencies, and safer working environments.
Companies striving for OE must also retain a unique posture throughout all levels of management. Managers must be able to effectively communicate to all employees the company initiatives and goals, and at the very same time, tactfully hold all stakeholders accountable. OE and lack of accountability cannot co-exist.
To become best of breed, tackling employee buy-in and keeping open lines of communication internally must take place as part of your planning, both short and long term. If employees are not on board and are not willing to consider or utilize the new technology, or, if you choose to keep them in the dark, your deployment will, without any doubt, not be successful. Consider a producer who switches from pen and paper dispatch without any input from the dispatch team prior. The end users of these platforms will undoubtedly have the best input and suggestions for specifying your new installations, after all they will be using the tools day to day, so why not gather their input?
Framing emerging technologies as tools and not as direct replacements for an employee’s experience, talent, or their ability to continue to make logical and independent decisions must be reinforced with all stakeholders involved. A well thought out plan and accompanying roll out is paramount in this initiative.
Start simple and small. The technologies available for ready mix producers are evolving rapidly and, as it may seem overwhelming, or even unnecessary to adopt or invest in them, they exist to streamline operations and to assist in driving more dollars to your bottom line.
Properly utilized, the technologies in our dispatch, batch, quote to cash, QC and supply chains environments can be extremely powerful tools to aid in meeting your daily production and profitability goals, providing an instant ROI.
These are your foundations for best of breed producers:
1. Cloud based dispatch suite, such as Marcotte Dispatch.
2. Cloud based plant batch suite, interfaced to dispatch suite, for seamless dispatch to batch integration, such as Marcotte Batch.
3. Cloud based fleet tracking and GPS interfaced to the dispatch suite, such as Digital Fleet.
These cloud-based solutions have many distinct advantages over other software providers that only offer location-based or partial cloud services. Cloud solutions offer accessibility to their applications from any internet connection, and they offer fail-safe environments, such as AWS, offering nearly 100% up time.
Up Next: How to transform your operations while navigating this “digital path”? Stay tuned in July!