Driving change : innovative management in distribution centres

Innovation requires change, and in the business environment, resistance to change is deleterious to organisations. The ability to continuously adapt to change enables firms to achieve sustainable value creation and competitive advantage (Innovation Management Incorporated, 1999). Major organisational changes for innovation can anticipate resistance, especially if proposed changes alter values and visions related to the existing order. For businesses in the logistics industry to effectively meet needs of customers, the change process should weigh up the competencies and capabilities of the organisations, as well as their partners in the supply chain (Potter, 2001; Hultman, 1995; Bond, 1995; Steinburg, 1992; Dunphy and Dick, 1989; Ford, Ford and McNamara, 2002). This study relates to change management aspects encountered in Distribution Centres and the issues they faced. We utilised ten case studies including questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with twenty-three managers of Distribution Centres in Australia and Singapore to identify the drivers for change, the issues faced and their importance for successful innovation. The most important driver for change found in Australian firms was to achieve customer satisfaction and provide better service value; whereas the most important driver for change in the Singaporean firms was achieving Continuous Innovation or improvement. This study concludes that resistance to change is inevitable, that individuals express resistance both covertly and overtly, and that an emotional cycle of change resistance and acceptance should be expected and actively managed. The most important ingredient found for successful change management was employee involvement.