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To be honest, I am not a huge fan of F1, but the male part of our family is! So, our TV was tuned to F1 a lot of weekends. Not only to witness the actual battle but also to watch the “qualies” and even the training 😕. This last weekend same protocol, but I must admit, I found it quite thrilling. The question that popped up in my mind was: How did he become a world champion? The four key factors I can think of are: the car, the supporting team, driver capabilities & experience and a little bit of luck. The logical next question for us: Can we translate that to our own business: Service Logistics? Let’s try!

The car: Innovating is key
Downforce, Aero Dynamics and DRS are some of the terms that cross our diner table regularly. At first, I had no clue of the meaning, but now I understand half of it 😊. But the key thing is they are all related to making the F1-car go faster. So, to be ahead of your competitors you must innovate your technology constantly. I think this also holds for the Service Logistics world. Innovations like IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Block Chain, Digital Twin, Virtual Reality and Additive Manufacturing can also in Service Logistic help you creating a competitive advantage. You can read more on this topic in our last newsletter and in this newsitem.

The supporting team: Actionable control tower
Max didn’t do it all by himself but there is a whole team involved. For example, the technicians: the fastest tyre-exchange can definitely be a game-changer. But also, the people in the “F1-control-room” matter. Every second of the race they monitor and analyze every move Max makes and also of his competitors. Based on these insights,  they determine the best race-strategy and advice Max accordingly. Also, here we can make an analogy with the Service Logistics: The Service Control Tower. A Service Control Tower gathers, shares and interprets data of the total service supply chain with the ultimate goal to change your supply chain from reactive to proactive. Read more in our newsletter or get inspired by the following video:

Driver capabilities & experience: People are key
Ultimately you are nowhere without a driver: Max raced the race. Although he is still young, he has tons of experience, starting at the age of 4 with a drive to get this title. Again, making the bridge to Service Logistics: A lot can be automated but still people are needed to make the right call. However these people must be well qualified, capable, trained and motivated to become World Class. Like in the racing business, the number of people embracing innovations and driving improvements at the same time is limited.

A little bit of Luck
Well, a little bit…. The male part of the family is always complaining about the “Hamiltonnetjes” and all his luck. My simple observation is that Max had a tremendous amount of luck when Latifi hit the wall and triggered the safety car situation. With way less luck you can be the new World Champion in your field. Just do not forget to embrace new innovations, to start your own control tower or be part of one, to cherish your people and to enthuse them to improve themselves and your company.