A successful business involves a series of complex interactions among people, processes and technology. Managing and improving operational performance requires a clear understanding of these interactions, identification of the highest priority issues and development of a realistic plan to address them.
We can assist you to improve operational performance by bringing an independent viewpoint to the table, built on hundreds of mandates conducted in a wide variety of industries.
Our approach to operations improvement generally follows three phases:
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Diagnosis of the current situation and the factors impacting operational performance.
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Identification and recommendation of improvement opportunities and solutions.
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Hands-on assistance to develop an action plan and to implement the recommended improvement opportunities.
Typically these phases overlap so that easily achievable performance improvements can be implemented early in the process. We work very closely with senior management to secure buy-in to the proposed recommendations as they evolve.
Our services can include some or all of the following components:
- Streamline business processes and improve productivity. Business processes exist in all areas of a company. Often, inefficient processes are the root cause of declining operational performance. We review your business processes at a broad and detailed level to determine opportunities for streamlining. Our recommendations are always practical and can lead to significant productivity improvements.
- Review technology use and needs. In our experience, technology issues are more than functional problems, and are usually a symptom of broader business issues such as inappropriate processes or inadequate user training. In many cases, significant data are collected by systems, but inadequate information is available to managers for decision making. We review the use of technology across the organization and assess whether it meets the needs of the business.
- Assess organizational effectiveness. We analyze departments and functions to determine if the people are working as effectively as they could and whether their skills and experience match their roles and responsibilities. We are equally comfortable assessing customer-facing staff, warehouse/production employees or back-office support staff such as accounting and IT.
- Develop strategies and plans to advance business objectives. While operations are a core activity in a business, they must also occur within a sustainable strategic framework. We help you build a winning strategy through rigorous assessment of your products/services, target markets and competition.
- Conduct operational due diligence for acquisitions and new business ventures. As a complement to the financial due diligence that occurs during an acquisition or new business venture, we perform operational due diligence for strategic and financial buyers. As part of our work, we get “behind the numbers” to review, validate and test the target company’s assertions about its people, processes and technology. We report any inconsistencies or hidden costs to our clients for them to incorporate in their overall investment analysis.