Otto Bock - Sales (Front End, Sales)

In the Sales department we implemented a management system comprising meeting structure, KPIs, etc. There was also a re-organisation in that department and a new director took over. We worked on the sales process, selling techniques, but did not roll out something like my project before. Again, main focus was order entry as this was the most vital issue for the new director.

Otto Bock - Sales (Front End, Pics)

I have some nice pics of Tilia working on those Brown Papers and the sales process.

Otto Bock - Sales (Front End)

Another big work stream was the Front End, which is basically Sales and Order Entry.

Responsible for this workstream were mainly Peter and Tilia. Peter was a project manager and Tilia a senior consultant.

I remember we pinned down all the processes there, especially the order entry one. This one was vital, as it gave the input for production and the rest of the supply chain.

We had difficulties with the manager of order entry. She was somewhat stubborn and even her superiors had problems dealing with her. She was very convinced that her processes were pretty perfect. One day, we took her to another company which is also in the healthcare sector and produces similar products (the Sales director knew the CEO there) and showed her a different way of how order entry can be done, in fact more effectively and efficiently.

Order entry is extremely crucial, as prosthetics and wheelchairs are "tailor-made" items and each patient has own personal requirements. There are millions of ways a wheelchair can be composed.

Skills Training

Before I describe the next project I ought to explain the other package, which I mentioned already, and which can be sold to clients, too - skills training.

As opposed to management training, which is for all management (as the name indicates), skills training is for operators and in general all concerned work force that does not manage.

Skills training has 2 main areas where it can be applied: either it is sales training, where sales staff is trained how to sell (more detail in a later entry), or it is some sort of throughput optimisation training, where operators are trained to improve the "yield" rate (explanation in the next blog entry).

Skills programmes can have the following features:
- A mascot can be created for the training programme and material. It makes it easier for employees to recognise the theme and remind them of the newly trained skills,
- Employees are not trained by consultants but by their own line management.
- In TTT seminars (Train-the-trainer) line management is being trained what and how to train the employees, coaching skills are also trained, as line management will act as coach afterwards,
- In TTE seminars (Train-the-employee) employees are being trained by line management,
- In CTC sessions (Coach-the-coach) feedback is being given to line management about their training and coaching sessions in which a consultant should be present (at least initially),
- In CTE sessions (Coach-the-employee) employees are coached by their line managers,
- Using the mascot, special training material must be developed by the consultancy company.