Have you ever wondered what happens Purchasing-wise behind the scenes in an organization as large and unique as the Unites States Postal Service?
Inside Supply Management takes you inside the USPS Purchasing Department in the article First Class Results. Today must be the day for organizations dealing with billions of dollars. I just wrote a post about Tyco that mentioned their $24 billion in annual spend. Can you believe that the USPS spends $70 billion annually?
With 200,000 employees, communications is vital if you expect to get people on board with the initiatives. I was glad to read in the article that they used their internal communications methods to disseminate success stories. I've written in the past about communicating with end users and how that makes such a difference in the outcome of the project.
Another key factor in this success story was having the "bigwigs" involved - in this case that included John E. Potter (the Postmaster General/CEO of the USPS). I always say that if you want a Sourcing initiative to be successful, the top administrators must speak out on its behalf on a regular basis showing their support for it. Although that shouldn't be necessary to gain cooperation, it is. We Purchasing professionals just need to accept that and act accordingly.
Next time you mail a letter, think about the huge Purchasing organization behind that little stamp!
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