“KM in Action — the Transfer of Best Practices”
“The Barriers to Internal Transfer”
“A Model for Best Practice Transfer”

“Buckman Laboratories — Empowered by K'Netix®”

Chapter 14 of  If Only We Knew What We Know by Carla
O’Dell and C. Jackson Grayson, Jr., with Nilly Essaides. 

Summarized by: Harold Santiago
27 September 2001

Transfering Best Practices — Company Example: BUCKMAN LABORATORIES

Objective:

(Value Proposition) To provide associates (employees) with instant access to the collective IQ of the organization at the point of customer contact. Thus, making them able to make intelligent and immediate decisions that affect customer relations and revenue.
Goal:
 (As envisioned by Bob Buckman – Chairman) A knowledge-driven company linked globally by an electronic network offering ready access to company best practices, experiences and skills to Buckman’s 1,200 associates (employees) in eighty countries.
Strategy:
 By creating an electronic best-practice sharing engine that allows everyone to learns just enough and just in time.


Strategic Factors:

1. Knowledge Transfer Department (KTD — Buckman’s KM dedicated group charged with:
  • Accelerating the accumulation & dissemination of knowledge within the company.
  • Providing easy and rapid access to the Company’s global knowledge.
  • Sharing best practices with all of Buckman’s associates.
2. K’NETIX
— Buckman’s Trademarked term for the way they use their Knowledge Sharing  interface.
— A system of applications, which allows the users to tap into:
  • Bu Lab Systems containing component databases that relate to the business operations and systems.
  • Bu Lab folder of accumulated technical knowledge to solve customer problems.
  • Bu Lab’s Marketing Information Data Analysis System (MIDAS)
  • Customer Forums
  • Bu Lab Learning Center, which facilitates Buckman’s Distance Learning Project.
3. Buckman’s Company Culture
— Buckman fosters a sharing-oriented culture even before KM became a corporate strategy.

The company’s Code of Ethics:

  1. The organization is composed of unique individuals with different capabilities, all necessary to successful operation of the company.
  2. Individuality will be acknowledged by treating one another with dignity and respect and maintaining the focus on continuous and positive communication among all employees.
  3. The contributions and accomplishments of all employees will be recognized irrespective of magnitude.


Effects:

  1. Retraining of the company’s global sales force.
  2. Climb in the sales of the company’s new products.


Measure:

  1. Indicators in KM initiatives center on the interface with customers.
  1. System’s Value- Number of customer contracts won thru K’NETIX.
  2. System’s Effectiveness – Growth in new product related revenues.
  3. There is a rise of 33.3% in the ave. sales of products less than 5 years old.
  4. The 250% growth in sales in the past decade is also credited much to its on-line KM systems.
    5.
  5. Indicators in Operational Measures
    • Increase in speed of response to customers from days to hours.
    • Rise in quality of response in Buckman’s operations worldwide.
    • On-line remote access to knowledge means the office is virtually everywhere.
    • Growth in the number of talented people immersed in high intensity projects.