Supply chain transformation at UScellular

Change is never easy, and leadership must champion the change. When UScellular made the decision to put more focus on its network supply chain operations, the company started with identifying the leadership team that would drive the organisational transformation. This piece of the puzzle was critical because it would be the foundation of the work needed to mature our network supply chain. Leaders would need to encourage collaboration, develop talent and work across organisational boundaries. The new UScellular network supply chain needed change champions. These leaders needed to be able to work together seamlessly, build trust and have strategic thinking to help us set priorities and navigate to our future. The leaders needed to engage their teams to start driving the changes. It was part of the strategy to be very deliberate on who was hired for each of the leadership roles and what function they would lead. Once the leadership team was in place, we discussed how important change management was going to be for us to be successful as we navigated not only the change to our organisation but to our partners and stakeholders. We discussed how we would approach hiring, process creation and how we were going to get there. We had open communication with our teams and partners and knew that we may not get everything right the first time. But we believed in the strategy, and we would learn and improve along the way. The team drove a culture of inclusiveness, accountability and openness. When discussing how to handle our change management plans, we made sure to address five key steps: 1) prepare the organisation for change; 2) vision and plan for change; 3) implement the changes; 4) embed changes within team culture and practices; and 5) review progress and analyse results. These five steps were instrumental in setting the team up for success in the transformation. Leaders deliberately kept in mind how to care for the team and how they might be feeling during different stages of this transformation. Another key piece for network supply chain transformation was that senior UScellular leadership was very supportive of what we were trying to accomplish. They understood that this was going to be a journey that we needed to manage from both a people perspective and a process perspective, with impact on both internal and external partners. Senior leaders recognised the need for additional personnel for the organisational transformation to be successful. They gave the team the support needed to be successful in driving a more mature supply chain. In conclusion, for this transformation to be successful, we addressed leadership by hiring the right associates for the right roles and focusing on change management. We were open and honest with the larger team and partners that we would have our struggles but would work together to find common ground and solutions that would drive real progress. Our progress shows how we were able to use change management practices effectively to drive this progress.