Supply Chain Manager, Multinational Electrical Appliance Manufacturer

Date of Interview

• April 1, 2006

Description of Respondent

• Respondent is a supply chain manager of a large multinational electrical appliance manufacturer.

Interview Notes

• The company actively uses Lotus Notes based blogs in communicating internally. Blogging is not used in support of supply chain related communications.
• Respondent feels that the types of internal and international communications she regularly engages in with trading partners around the globe are less amenable to "web 2.0" applications than customer communications or the internal communications that current executives blog about.
• Respondent attributes this to the types of communications and decisions that are the main focus of a large international supply chain. That is, the frequent communications that surround supply chain (via phone, conference call, and email) are usually about decisions that have already been made. These communications are less deliberative and more execution-oriented than the types of development and design related communications that staff who are involved in marketing or in designing products.
  
• When questioned about the role of I.T., respondent reports that the company's I.T. department, while it is highly centralized in one country, does regularly communicate with users such as herself in the design and introduction of new services and applications.
• Respondent reports that this was not always the case, that as early as 4 years ago, operating departments were basically provided I.T. services on a "take it or leave it" basis.
  
• Given the current positive relationship between business units and I.T., respondent does not see I.T. "resistance" when it comes to supporting the introduction of "web 2.0" related services.
• Respondent sees wiki technology as potentially very valuable, primarily in terms of the ability for a "wiki" to provide a user with a large body of well organized information that relates to a given project or problem. Respondent's example is the various types of information that relate to how to pack a standard shipping container - "having all information related to a possible transaction organized and in one location."
• Respondent states that editorial control must still be maintained over wiki contents. Also mentioned was the need to standardize on language perhaps through "folksonomies" especially when many users might not have English as a first language.
• Asked to discuss generational and cultural differences respondent does feel that some older executives might be less inclined to accept collaborative technologies.
  
• She also pointed out that employees located in some Eastern European countries seemed more accepting of blogging and related technologies, possibly because historically there were restrictions on free public and uncensored communication.