At a time when our supply chains need to be as connected as ever before on a business to business level, we find ourselves in a situation where we are more disconnected than ever on a personal level. This means that manufacturing sales teams have even more adversity when trying to secure meetings, identify opportunities, and close deals. This also means that the opportunities in our pipelines are more precious than ever and might be the difference in being able to keep the doors open or not.

Written by Ryan Langdon, IMEC Regional Manager

If you are wondering how another year has seemed to slip by so quickly, don’t worry, you are not alone. If you are worried that you have gotten off to a late start setting goals and direction for your organization; you are not alone there either. Most organizations delay planning and goal setting due to the unavailability of perfect data, lacking a structure to get planning accomplished, or just hate the painful process of creating a perfect plan that ultimately gathers dust on the shelf until the next year. Although strategic planning may not be something you look forward to, it can be a transformative process that brings the organization together and accelerates growth and improvement initiatives. I have accumulated a few tips and tricks over the years that may make your planning a little less painful. Or at the least, you may find a pointer or two that helps you think outside your planning box.