Ginger & Cardamom

India wins the Twenty20 World CUP, I am elated. Cricket can't get better :-)

Benched: Learning from Supply Chain and IT

Now that I am getting into shoes of my new job of being a Fun(ctional) Con-Sultan-t. Its high time I should write something about it. I deal with Supply Chain Management in my work are so I found it the most appropriate to write something about it. The post has been a result of my thought process during I spent two long weeks on the bench. So here I go about my learning from Supply Chain Management and an IT Organization-

1- People = Resource/Raw Material

2- Resource on bench= Safety Stock

3- Resource under Training = Inventory in Transit

4- Resource Transfers= Move orders

5- Onsite= Interorganization Inventory Transfer

6- Billable Resource on a Project= Sale of Goods

7- Compensation= Cost of Goods Sold (Direct)

8- Buffer Resource on a Project- ATP (available to promise)

9- Cubicle of the Resource= Locator

10- Daily Attendance- Physical Counting

11- Appraisal- Work in Process

12- Head hunters, B-Schools, Engg Colleges- Vendors

Some times this restless soul wonders that all the IT organization who talk about lowering the inventories all across the companies are unable to do it with in their own organization. All this and so more when I was BENCHED……

Busy!!! Call U Back

I got a message from an old friend saying “Bhool Gaya Mujhe, Corporate ban gaya tu!!!” (You have forgotten me and turned into a corporate). This line set me into thinking what I had been on my mind a lot lately, Is this true? I out of habit keep pinging and calling friends and acquaintances to be in touch. Yes that’s true that I actually have nothing to say but just a small phone call to say that I still do care. I have discovered some responses on which actually I can categorize conversations-

1- Hey Prats!!! What are you doing man? How is life?….blah… blah and a 10 min conversation.
With all said and done 10 minutes that make your day, make you feel that you exist apart from your employee number, cubicle number, and extension number. There is more in life than e-mails, the replies and the contemplation of to whom it should be carbon copied.

2- Hello!! Who is this? Prateek?!?!?!? (a minute of mourning silence for the dead memory cells) oh yes!! Prateek. How are you?
This one is a tricky kinds, if the short term loss of memory is temporary there can be a hearty conversation like the earlier one. If not then the situation becomes a lot funny. The conversation goes like following-

Ol’ Buddy: So tell me man how is life?

Prats: Cool yaar, I have recently moved to Bangalore.

OB: Oh Banagalore!! Lovely place lovely weather.

P: Yeah man very true, U tell me how r u doing

OB: Nothing much man, some good work keeps coming on and off. (Good answer Have and have no work keep guessing). How is your company doing?

P: Oh its been fine except for some jitters because of the weak dollar.

OB: (Thinking and fitting correlations & regressions) oh you in IT services?

P: yes, I am with Infosys.

OB: Oh man I completely forgot. I thought you were with Goldman Sachs.

P: ( Confused) I was in marketing not finance.

OB: You were in my class…eh… y..eee….s!!! Aur batao Howz Life?

P: Blah Blah …. Acha chalo will talk to you later!! BBye.

3- Hey Prateek!! I am a bit occupied can I call you back later.
And they call back. Take time to talk and show true professionalism.

4- The most interesting ones are who say “I am a bit busy, I will call you back.” And they never call back. This is one category I seriously pity. They don’t want to keep in touch and don’t give an F word. But they would be diplomatic they might need to revive the contacts in future.

Of all things said and done I was wondering when my friends says that I have turned into a corporate, have I fallen in the dreaded 4th category myself. I hope not, because always in my life I have believed in some principles which I found were articulated in a blog, Whose I don’t remember but the exact worlds stuck to me as a paraphrase of my own thoughts “When Business and relations are difficult to pull together, Relations must survive.”

P.S.- To my old friend, I have not turned into a corporate, couldn’t call you because I missed your number trying to get it from the common friends and will give u a buzz ASAP.