This series uses Dingli, a Patisco demo account. Every system screen and all the data shown here came from real operations in the system, including the exchanges between buyers and suppliers; they are not mock-ups. The people and dialogue are dramatized, and the illustrations are for illustration only. Screens are shown in the system's Chinese interface; Patisco is also available in English and other languages.
In the story: Thursday of the same week, 11:00 a.m.
Just a little different
In the photo Ms. Chang sent, two chains lay side by side on white paper. On the left, the current nickel plating. On the right, the new plating, more rust-resistant and just a little darker.
How much is "a little"? A-Mei zoomed in until she could see the texture of the outer plates, and she still couldn't say.
Chairman Lin leaned over for a look and laughed. "Usually it's customers changing things on us. This time it's the supplier."
A-Mei didn't laugh. She was thinking about Jonas's head of QC. Last year a whole batch of rims had come back to be re-stickered because the sticker was five millimeters off.
How it used to go
A spec change used to travel like this:
Ms. Chang sends a photo to A-Mei on LINE. A-Mei forwards it to A-Zhe. A-Zhe emails Jonas with the photo, explaining that the new plating is better. Jonas writes back: "What's the salt spray test result?" A-Zhe passes that to A-Mei, and A-Mei asks Ms. Chang.
One question, four people, three tools. By the time the test report landed with Jonas, a week had gone by.
More dangerous still: had the spec actually changed, and did the product data, the PI, and the shipping documents all say the same thing? Three months later Jonas gets the goods, opens the box, sees a different color, goes back to the PI, and it still says "nickel plating."
How it goes in Patisco
Bring the supplier into the same thread
Under [Discussion], A-Mei opened a new thread titled "Chain plating change," clicked [Add participants], switched to the [Email] tab, and added Hongtai's email address. Hongtai has no Patisco account, and that's fine. When they reply by email, the reply comes into this thread.
Using [Reply by email], she asked two things: the salt spray test report, and which batch the new plating starts from. Ms. Chang's reply, along with the attached test report, came into the same thread. If A-Zhe wants to see it, he opens the thread. Nobody has to forward anything.
Change the spec on the order
The test report checked out, and Chairman Lin gave the nod.
A-Zhe did two things. First, on product DL-CH-116, he changed [Spec] from "nickel plating" to a description of the new plating. Second, he opened PI-0411, changed the spec on the chain line too, and clicked [Send] to Jonas, with a line of explanation and the test report.
When Jonas opens the PI on his side, [Compare changes] lights up again. This time it isn't the quantity or the unit price that changed. It's the spec cell. What changed, who changed it, and when: every version is in [Change history].
Three months from now, if someone asks who agreed to the new plating, the answer won't be in anyone's memory. It'll be on the order.
Before vs With Patisco
| Before | With Patisco | |
|---|---|---|
| How a spec change travels | Supplier → A-Mei → A-Zhe → customer, three tools | Supplier joins the same thread as an email participant |
| Where the test report is | Someone's LINE or inbox | Attached and kept in that discussion thread |
| Whether the spec changed | Product data, PI, and shipping documents each say their own thing | Changed on the PI and sent; the customer sees it in the comparison |
| Who agreed | Down to memory | Every version is in the change history |
A word for the boss: A spec change isn't scary in itself. What's scary is a change that only one person knows about.