All too often in my career in distribution, I've heard mistakes explained with the phrase "it fell through the cracks." How? Why?
As an organization, we recognize that mistakes occur. It's a certainty. But when they do, the legitimate explanation is never "it fell through the cracks." If a customer didn't get an order update or a supplier didn't receive a purchase order, nothing fell through the cracks—a mistake was made. That mistake is then owned. Steps are taken to understand why it happened. And a process is put in place so that it doesn't happen again.
At Liberty Supply, we mitigate mistakes through process optimization. "Falling through the cracks" is not in our lexicon. There is no complacency nor coverups. Our culture is built on speaking the truth, taking responsibility for mistakes, and bringing them to the team to solve the problems that caused them. Our team is very close-knit. We hold each other to these expectations because we realize the value that each person brings to the table.
Most mistakes in my past can be traced back to poor communication. We cannot control that a pandemic took down a manufacturing line, a natural disaster hit, or a shipment was damaged in transit. But we can absolutely control whether or not the customer knows about it. Communication is one of Liberty Supply's foundational pillars. We are constantly communicating with our customers and suppliers. When we know something, they do. There is no "falling through the cracks."