OCTOBER 2024LOGISTICSTRANSPORTATIONREVIEW19 address changes in the market with minimal advance notice. However, these processes are still constrained by the long lead time required by the manufacturing customer. Changes that the FVL team incorporates are rarely recognized within the current manufacturing cycle due to the complexity of the FVL supply chain. As such, the sales/marketing customer often views these changes as unsuccessful. Thus, any FVL team within a sales and marketing company has the challenge of anticipating potential changes and addressing them within their very limited sphere of control. For example, holding finished vehicle inventory to address potential high-day supply of vehicles at dealers. The ability to teach/instruct the manufacturing and the sales/marketing executives is a critical skill set for the FVL department lead in organizations set up with two objectives (manufacturing and sales/marketing). The differences in the time frames involved are not natural to the executive's experience in either silo. However, understanding the challenges faced by both the manufacturing and sales/marketing sides of the process is necessary for the organization's success. It requires the FVL team to be able to embrace and understand both sides of the business and provide the necessary interface so that both silo's objectives are met for the entire enterprise. This teaching process is both critical to the executive's education and time-consuming. The weaker and less experienced the executive, the more challenging the teaching process. FVL is a complex but rewarding role in such an organizational setup that requires individuals to be both strategic and operational for success. At times, neither silo recognizes nor understands the challenges which occur each day to be successful in FVL. Rory Hepner
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