Golf and business go hand in hand, but golf and logistics…. that’s just crazy. Maybe not when you think about the amount of process and trust that go into both. To get good at golf you must spend a lot of time refining your swing and then consistently tweak it to improve it. To have a well-oiled logistics operation you need to spend a lot of time refining your process and then consistently tweak it to improve it. Trust is another big part of it; trusting your swing, trusting your read, and trusting your caddie if you’re fortunate enough to play with one. Caddies are there to help you, just like a logistics partner.
Before each hole a caddie’s job is to give you the lay of the land; where you want to avoid hitting the ball, providing yardage to a certain point, and sharing how a putt will roll on the green. You can’t simply know all those things unless you’re playing a course you’ve played every week for several years. It’s very similar to how a shipper, whose business core competency is manufacturing, importing, marketing, and selling can’t be expected to know everything about what’s happening in the logistics industry.
That’s why you need a logistics partner who can give you the lay of the land, help you stay ahead of industry trends, and highlight the potential consequences of certain decisions, so you can get a detailed and concise understanding of what’s happening in the logistics world, without having to be an expert. This helps you avoid major missteps and end up having to hit “blind” shots with little chance of success.
Once you know the layout of the hole, now it’s time to figure out how to get on the green. On a short par 4 is it better to take out the driver or hit a long iron? A long iron will more often than not leave you in the middle of the fairway with more yardage to the hole, but a driver would put you right in front of the green where all you’d have to do is chip on. Do you risk it? A caddie in golf would help you figure out the odds, especially once they know how you hit the ball. If you’ve been slicing your drives all day, the caddie will ground you and direct you toward the safer bet to give you a better chance of shooting par.
A good logistics partner will get to know your logistics strategy and its operational strong and weak points. They’ll become that trusted adviser who will give you unbiased input when you are stuck between two options that both look good on paper. Do you ship that urgent order directly from the co-packer that has been having production delays or do you ship that order from inventory that is further away and pay a little bit more to make sure the product gets there in time to keep your customer happy? It sure is nice to have someone in your corner to help you make those tough decisions.
Now you’re having a great round, even par through the front 9, you hit the turn and your mind starts racing. You can either keep it going strong or your game begins to fall apart. Hole number 10 starts with a wayward drive and as you walk slowly under the trees to find that ball, you feel the pressure intensifying. Having to deal with that alone is not fun. A good caddie makes that long walk a lot easier as they remind you about the round that you’ve been playing to this point and point out that the only thing that led to that mishit were you trying to swing too hard. An even better caddie gets ahead of this mishit by reminding you that you’ve played a great round and all you need to do is relax and play your game.
A good logistics partner will be there to help you through the daily challenges of being in logistics and communicate what’s happening or what went wrong in a bad situation. A great logistics partner will point out areas where there can be improvements made to reduce risk and provide full visibility to what’s happening and not only what went wrong in a bad situation, but what the solution is based on the circumstances. You don’t have to navigate the unrelenting logistics terrain alone. You just need to figure out whether you want to walk that with a good caddie or a great caddie.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are both good and bad caddies. Most times in golf you don’t have a choice, you’re paired with a caddie that is staffed at the course. In logistics, there are both good and bad logistics partners as well. The nice thing is that you’re not forced to work with anyone provider. Just like professional golfers get to do when they pick their caddie, you get to pick your logistics partner. You’re not forced to work with anyone. You can feel them out to see if they’re going to be the right partner for you who can help you get a lay of the land, develop a plan and keep you on track. Pretty nice to be a logistics pro right?
