This morning my smartphone reported that 7 updates were available. As such, I am not much of a 'power-user', although some purposeful apps do support my business life in a pleasant way. That still doesn't mean I install every update just like that. Especially since not every update is an improvement.
One thing we can learn from all these updates is that they work with version numbers, and I still see this happening too infrequently in logistics. Yesterday, for instance, I came across another annoying example where version control could and should have played a role. Due to a number of misunderstandings, what the customer expected was ultimately not delivered. What is referred to here as 'the customer' is a large company with several branches and different departments per branch that do not always communicate well among themselves. That, together with an informal atmosphere, can just lead to the situation where a project manager places an order, which is then reported to be executed 'like last time'. From the supplier's logistics, we found out too late that another department had meanwhile ordered a similar product with a minor change. However, this project manager was not aware of that change, so when he ordered 'as last time', he actually meant the penultimate time. And that's when a version number can really come in handy.
If we then add version and revision numbers to bills of materials and drawings, the likelihood of errors is already much lower. In the end, it works much more pleasant for everyone, after all, everyone wants to get things right the first time, but it has to be clear which requirements and wishes are valid at that moment.
This practical example is from the manufacturing industry, but, unfortunately, I also know plenty of examples of how not to do it from the administrative corner. How many notes, minutes and so on do not circulate under the file name doc.docx? I have seen important information lost on several projects because employees had continued working with an outdated version of a particular document.
For large projects, there is software available that makes version control easy, but for small projects, minutes and the like, it can already help to agree on a uniform file name, labeled with a date and version number. If that version number is then also printed (automatically) on every page, the world has become a tiny bit better. And isn't that what we all strive for, with or without apps?
Frits de Wind - logistics consultant
