Counterpoint Podcast

It is not uncommon for companies to have multiple improvement initiatives underway at the same time. But very often these projects are delayed or don’t deliver the results envisaged when they were initiated!  Vector has helped many companies undertake very successful transformation projects.

So, in this 'less than ten minutes' episode Kiran Kothekar, Founding Director, shares a story of his meeting with the MD of an FMCG company, to ​illustrate why so many improvement initiatives fail and what leaders can do to get quantum improvements to happen in their organizations in the shortest possible time

In this podcast we visit the challenges posed by Waterfall and Agile (scrum), the most popular methodologies for software development.

While examining Agile, Anantha helps us question some of the assumptions behind few of its practices like - working with small ‘self-sufficient’ teams, keeping design and requirements fluid & use of standard sprint cycles.

He describes how by understanding the wrong assumptions, and by exposing the generic conflict underlying all software development processes, a truly agile software development method can be evolved. Tune in!

Agri-equipment manufacturing companies tend to have a major challenge in managing operations since demand is significantly dependent on seasons, level of rainfall, festivals, etc. Mr.Antony Cherukara, discusses how by adopting a pull-based supply chain, companies can become flexible enough to adjust themselves to changing market demand in such a way that sales loss for the company can be prevented while simultaneously de-stressing operations both for​ themselves and their suppliers. Tune in!

To find out more about how destress supply chains by buffering it from demand fluctuations please read:

In this episode of the Counterpoint Podcast, we bring into focus the challenges that the pandemic has caused on the already disrupted supply chains of pharma companies in India and across the world.

Achal Pande first gives us an analogy from the way train networks function to explain the real challenge with pharma operations. This makes it super-easy to understand the core problem in this environment. He then discusses how all the challenges can be sustainably eliminated to improve lead time and increase output. This will enable companies to respond with agility to changes in demand. Tune in!

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In the last episode on Mystery Analysis, we set the groundwork for why and how to do an analysis that would help us reveal the causality behind our post-implementation results. We also touched upon two concepts or approaches that could be used for detecting the mystery. This episode goes into details of these methods and subsequent steps to be followed. Tune in!

It is important for effective control of organizational activities to establish clear accountability for desired outcomes. Hence, there is a practice of using KPIs or KRAs or a related term to define individual targets. But what if we claim that these individual targets do not achieve their intended purpose. In fact, they might often result in an organization being fraught with friction between teams, blame games, poor agility and rampant system tampering behaviour. Can any sense of control ostensibly brought in by assigning individual targets be a mere mirage? Let's hear what Satyashri Mohanty has to say on this topic and lets also ask him if he can suggest a better solution to drive outcomes in companies. Tune in!

In the previous episode of this series, we discussed the challenges and probable pitfalls of implementing a pull distribution strategy as against a conventional push system. We left off the discussion at the end of the pilot phase. In this episode, we chart out the journey from

the end of the pilot phase to the scale-up phase and look at how the nature of challenges change in this phase. We conclude by discussing how these can be tackled to ensure speed and effectiveness of this transformation journey. Tune in!

Why is it that even though many companies realise that there is significant sales loss because they are not available in the huge number of small outlets, they still do not try for direct distribution of the full market? Is it really possible? Why is it that the industry conventionally uses weighted distribution & incremental growth and accepts incomplete distribution? Can using numeric distribution be a better and more progressive metric? Find answers to all these questions in this discussion with Puneet Kulraj. Tune in!

Commodities like steel are a challenge to differentiate based on product features. So, conventionally, steel companies are forced to compete almost solely on price/margins to win orders from customers/dealers. Unfortunately, 'price' is very difficult factor to sustain as differentiator. However, there a way for companies to differentiate themselves using reliability of service in commoditised markets like steel.

Tune in to find out how MSP Steel and Power Ltd. transformed its strategy and operations to create a clear distinctive edge in the steel industry.

Building any sort of loyalty in a competitive market is extremely difficult, and even more so when it comes to a commodity business. Let's hear from Mr. Siddharth Bansal, Director, Skipper Limited on how they transformed the distribution model of their polymer business-Skipper Pipes, in order to secure loyalty of channel members and influencers in the market.

We discuss the challenges they faced in abandoning the traditional volume-based schemes and implementing a pull distribution system. Also discussed is an innovative retailer/plumber loyalty program and the benefits Skipper Pipes realized from this. Tune in!

For more information about the lacuna of traditional trade promotional schemes visit:

In the last episode, we had discussed about the last mile obstacle in any typical retail environment, responsible for companies hitting a glass ceiling after achieving an initial jump in revenue and profitability by abandoning "push" mode of sales and implementing pull-based replenishment systems. We had also promised to share the solution to this obstacle so that companies can have a continuous and ever-flourishing growth model.

So, this episode is dedicated to exploring this revolutionary solution for the retail environment. Tune in!

The retail solution that Vector Consulting Group has implemented for its clients allows them to enjoy phenomenal growth in secondary sales. However, this pull-based replenishment flow system often hits a new saturation point every so often, which calls for a shift in the approach to unlock the next growth area.

This episode on the Counterpoint Podcast is the first part of a two-episode series on this topic. Sunil Davis, a senior consultant with Vector will first unravels how and why the market reaches such sales saturation points and then discusses the steps companies need to take in such situations, to reach for and achieve the next leap in sales performance. Tune in!

Ensuring fast NPD or New Product Development is one of the most important activities for any organization to sustain and grow. However, despite implementing the latest project management software and techniques, interruptions, rework, and lead-times for project completion remains high in environments with very high scope variability. Many CCPM implementations fail as well.

This episode on the Counterpoint Podcast is an introduction to a whole new approach for managing NPD projects better. Satya has used many examples and case studies to help bring clarity to this new methodology.

Tune in!

View the presentation at: https://bit.ly/30WKkHo

In an earlier episode, we had touched upon the challenges faced by the OEMs in managing spare parts availability for servicing vehicles. In that discussion, we had identified the core problem behind this challenge.

In this episode, we try to counter the conflict with a sustainable solution that enables higher availability and parts sales at much lower inventory as compared to the conventional way of managing spare parts. Also learn about how the shift to electric vehicles can impact the future supply chains of spare parts.

Tune in!

Imagine buying a vehicle and then facing high waiting time for servicing and repairs! Availability of Spares play a major role in the time it takes to get a vehicle out of the service station. Unfortunately, managing inventory of a huge range of spare parts is an Achilles heel for most OEMs.

This episode takes a deep dive into the challenges faced by the OEMs and by extension everyone in the supply chain until the customer. We also zero down on the core problem from which all the issues germinate. Tune in!

Manufacturing industries are marred by many common problems which obstructs flow of inventory like unreliable vendors, frequently missing components for manufacturing, inventory pileups, shifting bottlenecks and finally unhappy customers. In this episode with Mr. Sharan Bansal, Director at Skipper Limited, we discuss the learnings from a transformation of the operating model that was undertaken at Skipper, using flow principles of theory of constraints.

We had discussed problems with the current system of financial decision-making across companies in an earlier episode.

In this episode we discuss why it is crucial for all organisational decisions to be taken with a clear assessment of their global impact on the firm. Also discussed is, why the techniques like marginal-costing and absorption-costing, does not suffice for this purpose. A new method is offered which not only overcomes the pitfalls of these traditional methods but also takes into consideration uncertainty of demand and effect of a decision on the system constraint, to arrive at a holistic financial impact of any decision.

Tune in to also learn about the software tool developed by Vector to facilitate this holistic decision-making process in any organisation.

'Is leadership an art or a science?' is a perennial debate. A leader's true nature is witnessed at times of transformation and the challenges it brings along.

In this episode, we discuss and analyze why Leadership is a science and not an art and also go further to describe the three important tactics to be effective as a leader. Tune in!

You can also check out the link below, for more on Kiran's views on leadership:

Causal reasoning behind problems in organizations can reveal a circular loop structure, where A causes B but at same time B also boomerangs back to A at some point. Some of these loops can be very "sticky", forcing an organization to stay with the same problems for a long period.

If transformation initiatives ignore the existing causal loops at play, there can be a huge waste of time and capacity. This is one of the main reasons of failure of many organization wide #transformation initiatives. Tune in!

What really is a ‘constraint’ as referred to in Theory of Constraints? The dictionary defines a constraint as a limitation, a restriction, or an obstacle. Taking it literally, many misunderstand theory of constraints to be the art of overcoming obstacles and hinderances which come in the course of work. This is NOT Theory of Constraints.

We received a lot of requests to share some client stories and learnings from their business transformation journeys. So, here we are with Mr. Anil Mathur, COO at Godrej Interio. He talks about how they solved the perennial conflict for sales bandwidth between converting current enquiries and developing new leads by releasing significant capacity for business development from the existing team.  In B2B companies, on the one hand sales teams must meet new customers to develop new business, and on the other they must focus on support activities and current leads to ensure monthly order booking and sales targets. Most of their capacity tends to be taken up by the second. However, if this conflict is not addressed, a company cannot expand customer base and increase market share beyond a threshold without increasing the sales team! Tune in to find out how they solved this conflict!

Chronic problems stay unresolved due to inherent conflicts in resolving them. Conflicts manifests as design contradictions (example: fuel efficiency vs power) or in interpersonal issues (I want to do x, while my partner doesn’t want to do it).

Is there an approach to resolve these conflicts and contradictions? What kind of mindset is required to deal with conflicts and contradictions? This episode talks about mindset required to solve conflicts and the underlying techniques.

Listen to the episode and click on the link below to get more understanding on the topic.

Multitasking is considered an important skill to achieve more in less time. But is it really the most effective way to get more output?

The episode takes a deep dive into this topic and includes an interesting DIY activity to help you check if Multi-tasking does or does not work. Keep a pen, paper, and your phone ready before you begin listening.

Tune in and enjoy!

We have either mentioned or discussed the supplier bullwhip effect in many of our previous episodes, especially the ones around the supply chain and operations solutions. We received many messages from our fellow listeners, and so we thought it high time we must take this topic up.

Supplier Bullwhip is basically an ill effect of a supply chain practice of OEMs who use a combination of monthly forecasting and daily expediting to manage their assembly lines. The suppliers down below are the ones who bear the brunt of it, the further down in the chain the more severe the effect, which also means that the smallest guy in the chain is the worst hit. But it all does come back to the OEMs too indirectly. Listen to the episode to understand in detail.

In the past 3 episodes on the Thinking Processes series, we have discussed how the philosophy goes to the deepest level of a problem at hand, how it buids the logic around it and how it identifies the root cause to take a stab at it.
Hence, it makes an extremely helpful tool for anyone, especially managers and leaders. However, it takes some amount of practice to become proficient in using the tool. It has some very easy-to-follow starting steps which can help one get started on the journey of using it.

This episode is dedicated to laying the foundation for starting on a journey to build simple logical constructs of cause and effect. It gets really interesting and extremely exciting from here on. Tune in!

Many plants are often marred by poor efficiencies, late deliveries, and a perpetual fire-fighting mode. After decades of efforts, most of them have given up on solving the chronic problem. But there is a way out, an easy one, if one can understand the core conflict. This episode takes through understanding of the problems, core reasons for these problems and solutions which can literally turn around the plant performance.

Don't miss this one.

Find out how to overcome bias in decision making by using the right thougt-ware. Bad decisions can have long standing consequences. So, in order to avoid bias, managers tend to rely on data. Unfortunately, data is does not always help differentiate between truth and perception. For instance, two managers might have two different interpretations of the same data; or two opposing views can have fully reliable data supporting them. Sometimes, there is no data at hand. How can managers go beyond data and use a more systematic and rigorous approach to decision making?

This episode is a continuation of the two previous podcasts on Thinking Processes and explains how to use deductive reasoning to avoid common traps in analysing problems and making decisions. Tune in to find out more!

JIT is a methodology first developed and implemented in the 70's at Toyota Manufactuing Plant. Since then, it has been replicated and implemented across various manufacturing and supply chain companies across the word. All in a bid to keep their operations lean and reduce the failures, delays and cost stuck up in inventory or other resources. However, with uncertainities and high demand variability, due to natural calamities, increasing competition, changing technology and regulatory norms and hence systems like JIT might need to be re-looked at. This episode on the Counterpoint Podcast is a discussion to explore the shortcomings with JIT and if this methodology still holds relevance in the current conditions or do we need to evolve and move to a better and sustainable solution.