Continuous improvement is essential for boosting quality, reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and building resilience in supply chains. Despite recognizing these benefits, too many organizations have not fully adopted continuous improvement in their operations. Our research identifies key barriers to broader adoption and provides practical strategies to overcome them. By implementing these actionable steps, supply chain leaders can better foster a culture of ongoing innovation and efficiency.
APQC recommends three change management strategies to increase buy-in for continuous improvement across your supply chain.
- Invest in Continuous Improvement Expertise — Creating a sustainable continuous improvement culture involves training employees, clarifying their roles, and overcoming resistance to change. Continuous improvement experts play a vital role in driving success and championing these efforts. Leading organizations often hire full-time experts, enabling them to fully focus on supporting and implementing continuous improvement practices.
- Engage Employees for Change — To engage employees in continuous improvement, focus on how it benefits them. Answer “What’s in it for me?” with tailored messaging that explains how it will make their work easier or better. Involve employees in shaping the approach through two-way communication for feedback and concerns, showing you’re listening. Reinforce continuous improvement with recognition and rewards. Gamification can make the work more engaging and enjoyable.
- Continue Gathering Data on Effectiveness — Ongoing support from leadership is crucial for sustaining continuous improvement. If you’re tracking success measures, great! If not, start now. Connect continuous improvement measures to key business outcomes that leaders value, such as increased productivity, higher revenue, cost savings, or better customer service.
Learn more in APQC’s article: 3 Change Management Strategies to Spread Continuous Improvement Across Your Supply Chain.
Check out our Continuous Improvement in Supply Chain: 2024 Quick Poll collection to find additional industry reports on the current state of continuous improvement. Also, this infographic gives a quick visual summary of our findings.