Change management is another roadblock. Just because you deploy a social networking tool and tell people to use it doesn’t mean that they will. When confronted with new technologies and processes, many people react this way: “By the time I figure out how to do something this new way, I could have done it my way five times over.” We are creatures of habit, and getting us to change is not easy, especially if we believe that our way of doing things is better (easier and faster) than the new way being proposed.
Supply chain executives also view social networking as more work. To paraphrase what I often hear from them: “I barely have enough time in the day to get through my emails and voicemails; how do you expect me to use yet another system to keep track of discussions and status updates?”