The gap
The gap between what you know and can do, what is appropriate and fitting, and what time/resources are available – this gap, or rather, the bridging of this gap is the difference between successful enterprises and those that are not.
If you are lucky, it is a Venn diagram with an overlap of field of knowledge, fit and frame and you discover the sweet spot in the intersection.
And what do you do if there is no sweet spot? How do you bridge this gap?
This month, I’ve been looking for answers on how we bridge this gap. We’re looking at ways to improve inventory management by artisan producers in communities in remote parts of India – and the solutions are seeming elusive.
The technology approach – to computerize the process by turning scarves and mufflers and shawls of all different sizes and colors and materials into digital data for easier tabulation and control – seems logical to me. I’m comfortable with computers, with digitized ways of working. It’s possible to digitize standard products, to create working processes that computer-literate production managers can easily follow, and implement systems that can automatically generate reports to guide business decisions.
The technology approach is seeming less logical the more we dig into the software available, the array and assortment of non-standard products, the logistics of implementation in remote locations, the snags and hurdles of power outages, computer glitches, technical support and training capabilities.
And so, I am puzzling this intersection. Or rather this gap and how to bridge it.
One of the world’s earliest solutions for trade, in effect an inventory management system, came from the Indus Valley. Centuries before computers, small clay cylinders were imprinted with graphics that represented what was being shipped up or down the Indus River. An earthen bar code that is now an archeological record of the economy and commerce of the time.
Today, you can buy replicas of these seals on eBay — an inventory record lasting far longer than the goods themselves bridging the gap of time.