Jesse Cole of the Savannah Bananas
“There’s nothin’ you can do that can’t be done”
- Lennon / McCartney
Have you ever heard of the Savannah Bananas? If you have never heard of them, the best way to describe them is that the Bananas are to baseball what the Globetrotters are to basketball, only on steroids. Their motto is, “Fans First. Entertain Always.” Their goal is to be a total entertainment experience for the attendees. This starts with the purchase of a ticket. The ticket not only gets you a seat in the stadium but includes all food, bottled water, and soft drinks. Then there are the rules for Bananaball (yes, that’s what they call it). While I won’t go into all of them, the idea is to make the game fast and entertaining. Here are just a couple of the rules for Bananaball:
There is a two-hour time limit to the game
No bunting is allowed
Batters can steal first base
If a fan catches a foul ball, the batter is out (this makes the crowd part of the game and is my personal favorite)
When the team first came to town after the minor league team left, everyone in Savannah was talking about them, good and bad; for example, many in the city hated their name. But the fact was, they were talking. And Savannah Banana management made effective use of social media and soon the topics of Bananaball and the Savannah Bananas were trending number one in Savannah. People wanted to know more. Opening night was a sellout and of the ten home games that first year (2016), nine were sellouts! Bananaball, and the Savannah Bananas have become one of the epic events in Savannah. What started out as a seemingly crazy stunt became a top family entertainment experience. The Bananas went from zeros to heroes by being audacious and entertaining. They broke all the rules and ultimately ended up writing new ones.
Much of this has to do with Jesse Cole (aka “The Yellow Tux Guy”) who is the owner of the Savannah Bananas. Each week he records his “One Minute Boost” and posts it on LinkedIn. I watch it almost every week and he always has interesting topics. One of his recent posts was, “Build the Experience That You Would Want.” He spoke about how he and his team have built the organization to provide an experience that they think would be entertaining and that they are always tweaking it to make it better. It made me think, “Why shouldn’t supply chain professionals build supply chains that they would want to use?” Many supply chains are overly complicated and unwieldy. They can be difficult (and some downright impossible) for customers and suppliers to maneuver through and do not provide a positive supplier or customer experience.
Look at the supplier and customer interfaces in your purchasing and order management systems. Are they intuitive, or do you need a master’s degree in information systems management to navigate the process? Is it written in plain English, or does it contain jargon? And if jargon is necessary, are all abbreviations defined, and are the terms universal to the industry or specific to just a small group? Do you include pictures and clear descriptions of your products? Are pricing and discounts clearly spelled out? Can shipments be tracked? Whether your supply chain serves a B2B or a B2C environment your suppliers and customers should be able to quickly and accurately track their orders. How easy is it to use? How accurate is it? Does it provide automatic Proof of Delivery?
Customers should be able to place orders quickly and items should be clearly described, and photographs or sketches provided. Prices and quantity discounts along with shipping charges should be accurately communicated to the customer who should also be able to receive timely updates on the status or their orders. This should be true regardless of your environment or whether you are placing or checking an order online or with a human representative. Information should be timely and near real time. This requires continuous investment in state-of-the-art systems that allow both the customer and supplier access to the same data. Why not try to do something that is fun and interesting instead of the same old thing? One of the most dangerous sayings, and one that can destroy your business is, “We’ve always done it that way.” It just takes a little creativity.
Creativity is never born in a vacuum. It is the result of formal brainstorming sessions and informal watercooler conversations. It is the result of research and “what if” analysis. Creativity is the result of collaboration. The result is innovation which will drive success. And success drives both employee satisfaction and the bottom line.
Gary welcomes your comments and feedback. You can email him at garys@supplychainmavens.net.