You Push...I pull....

Using another ICT to define the Technology Push – Market Pull Strategy discussed a few class sessions ago. Wikipedia defines it as:
The business terms push and pull originated in the logistic and supply chain management[2], but are also widely used in marketing.[3][4]
A push-pull-system in business describes the move of a product or information between two subjects. On markets the consumers usually "pulls" the goods or information they demand for their needs, while the offerers or suppliers "pushes" them toward the consumers. In logistic chains or supply chains the stages are operating normally both in push- and pull-manner.[5] The interface between push-based stages and pull-based stages are called push-pull boundary or decoupling point.[5]
Because I am a visual leaner, there is a diagram, courtesy or Wikipedia.



At first thought when I think about a strategy that pushes and pulls I think about a grade school bully, taking lunches and pushing children in the dirt. Isn’t that what we sometimes imply anyways? The consumer is bullied into pulling goods towards them, while the suppliers are seen as “door to door salesman” pushing the consumers towards the lure of a new product, a solution to all the workforce problems.

In our class discussion, we examined which aspect pushed and which aspect pulled. Is new technology introduced because there is a need or is new technology introduced because consumers crave it? We discussed the highlights of this strategy along with the negative effects of implementing pushed technology.

Cubicle Experience

From a bird eye view I have experienced both push and pull of the discussed strategy. I have been a part of the workforce that must change its process in order accommodate a new time entry system or a new system to expedite the proposal submitting process.

Regardless of experience in this push pull strategy, I have found without support and proper implementation it is costly and frustrating.

Currently, my work revolves around internal communication. With that said, communicating to employees can be daunting- they are already swamped with emails and visit enough websites that communicating to them must be effective for both recipient and sender. So in order to do that and appeal to short attention span mentality, we decided to use video messaging, however, with the consumer pull of having a video camera, there lacked a part of the process. There was no pull- because of the restraints we exist in- we are operating and selling a medium with ineffective software.

For as negative as the notion of push pull tends to imply, it seems that one needs to exist to propel technology into the workforce.