Supply Chain Optimisation Communication Plan
This is a practical guide to building a communication plan for a supply chain optimisation project — who gets what information, when, how and from whom, adapted to the realities of improving the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain.
What a Communication Plan is
A communication plan is who gets what information, when, how and from whom. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Communication Plan. On a supply chain optimisation project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Supply Chain Optimisation project
Supply Chain Optimisation projects live or die on improving the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain. A well-built communication plan gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how supply chain optimisation projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Audiences
- Messages / information needs
- Frequency and channel
- Owner
Supply Chain Optimisation-specific considerations
Tailor the communication plan to the risks that most often derail supply chain optimisation projects:
- Data visibility
- Supplier coordination
- Change to established processes
Example
On a real supply chain optimisation project, the communication plan would be shaped by improving the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — data visibility, supplier coordination, change to established processes — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.