Page 15 - Logistics News June 2019

Opinion

Sustainable personal relationships

By Wesley Niemann, wesley.niemann@up.ac.za
Sustainable personal relationships between 3PLS and their clients offer a competitive
advantage in times of disruption.

THE EVOLUTION of globalisation, longer lead times, Advantages
loss of control over resources, extended supply Personal relationships hold fi rms secure in this
chain and greater uncertainty have resulted from context and produce a competitive advantage.
greater interrelatedness and interconnectedness of Members often receive additional support and
today’s business world. Firms can no longer rely on favourable treatment during a supply chain
their own internal capabilities to operate in dynamic disruption. Members who are involved in a personal
business environments, but rather depend on relationship accept responsibility and accountability
buyer-supplier relationships to resolve and survive for their actions. Further, personal relationships
supply chain disruptions. in a disruption context lead to improved business
A recent study by researchers at the University performance, fl exibility, interdependence,
of Pretoria investigated the role of personal dependability and reliability and problem-solving.
relationships in a supply chain disruption context Finally, personal relationships can be used as a
between buyers and suppliers of logistics services. mitigation strategy by members taking all the
The study identifi ed three three main themes: capabilities of the supply chain network into
attributes, advantages and disadvantages of consideration to adapt and grow during uncertainty.
personal relationships in the supply chain disruption
context. Disadvantages
Personal relationships also have a dark side.
Attributes When a disruption is realised and members
Personal relationship attributes are a necessity are too emotionally involved, this may lead to
for supply chain visibility and eff ective responses biased judgement and can result in irrational
towards disruptions. The study found that decision making. After a supply chain disruption,
continuous communication and information sharing members tend to be more lenient towards the
leads to real-time information, visibility, feedback performance appraisal of each other. Blurred lines
as well as honest and open communication during between right and wrong can emerge because
supply chain disruptions. members are aware that information is the key to
• Innovative thinking is stimulated by eff ectively managing disruptions more eff ectively, leading
managed personal relationships that generate to information leakage. With self-interest seeking
knowledge that is hard to imitate. behaviour, members take advantage of the existing
• Personal credibility refers to the reliability and the personal relationship to get favourable treatment
level of trust and confi dence individuals have in and misuse trust, which can lead to unethical
each other, where members take the necessary behaviour. Stagnant personal relationships are
steps to resolve a disruption and ensure the those that operate in a comfort zone, resulting in
survival of the personal relationship afterwards. too much member dependence and lost resource
• Personal aff ection refl ects the individual feelings, investments. Ill-managed personal relationships
sentiments and emotions that enable a closeness drive up supply chain management costs, and
between people. fragile personal relationships have a negative
• Relational alignment, such as mutual fi nancial impact on fi rms, leading to reduced
understanding, common interests, mutual goals business performance.
and objectives, and cultural alignment between The study enhanced awareness among buyers
members, infl uences the success of personal and suppliers of the diverse mix of disadvantages
relationships. Forming a personal relationship stemming from personal relationships. With this
takes time and commitment as repairing damage knowledge, buyers and suppliers are equipped to
to a relationship can be costly. extract value from their personal relationships in the
• Investment and commitment towards the midst of a supply chain disruption context. Firms
formation of strong personal relationships allows should encourage their workforce to participate
members to reap the benefi ts thereof during in relationship-building initiatives by emphasising
disruptions. This includes eff orts to understand the advantages that stem from having personal
the cultural diff erences of members. relationships. However, supply chain members
• Trust is critical for operating in dynamic business must be aware of the attributes that enable the
environments. development of strong personal relationships. •

June 2019 | Logistics News 13