SCDigest Editorial Staff
One important, but rarely discussed, aspect to a new distribution project, especially those involving major deployments of software or material handling systems, is the need to document in detail progress, issues and communication as the project unfolds.
SCDigest Says: |
The idea isn’t to set up an adversarial system. Rather, by maintaining and sharing a summary of key decisions, communications and expectations, it makes for a more positive relationship by catching potential issues early, before they explode into major disputes further down the load.
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Why? Because this information can be crucial later on to resolve disputes with vendors and negotiate cost overruns, and prevent many potential issues from developing in the first place.
He Who Documents Usually Wins
No one plans or expect problems, but the reality is that there are very few large-scale projects that don’t create a number of issues that require resolution between customer and vendor.
What nearly every vendor knows: the side that has better documented what has occurred usually has the upper hand in settling such disputes.
The good news for buyers – vendors still rarely do it well.
Both sides are usually pretty good at documenting known issues – often called “punch lists”- that need to be worked on to take care of problems, make small enhancements, etc., as the projected is tested and goes live.
But few companies do a good job of documenting everything else – other issues that arise, what progress is made during each week during the build phase of the project, specific tasks the vendor or customer agree to complete, requests for information from each side and when that information is delivered, etc.
(Distribution and Materials Handling Article - Continued Below) |