Many SG&A improvement initiatives and cost-reduction measures look like a success on paper when in fact tremendous value was left on the table. For some, it was because the strategy lacked a sufficiently granular evaluation of opportunities and trade-offs. This alone is enough to undermine the benefit of hitting a savings target while sacrificing far more than necessary in the process.
But another opportunity often missed is when the strategy doesn’t take into account the value of the interrelationships between people and processes, and the potential of these interrelationships to generate future value within the new organizational design.
Most manufacturers—even successful ones—aren’t seeing anywhere near the levels of productivity that their operations are capable of. It’s not for lack of trying; when embarking on a continuous improvement journey to drive excellence in productivity, manufacturers often experience steady progress in the beginning but eventually run into a wall. After all the quick wins have been exhausted, it can become increasingly difficult to capture substantial productivity gains as the project progresses.
How do you go beyond low-hanging fruit to reach that next level of productivity?
The results from implementing a continuous improvement program can diminish over time for a number of reasons.
For many businesses, improving contact center performance and efficiency represents one of the fastest ways to achieve significant cost savings and revenue growth. Crucial to the success of every contact center is creating a healthy balance between outstanding customer service, employee satisfaction, and cost efficiency. Accomplishing all three of these goals in the most efficient way possible can seem like a big challenge, but it’s an even bigger opportunity to maximize your return on investment in this critical function.
So how do you enable your contact center to deliver better results at a lower cost?
The recent 5-day closure of the world’s largest hazelnut spread factory due to quality issues highlights one of the key risks facing food and beverage companies. Considering that normal production at the affected plant is 600,000 jars a day, the shutdown serves as a very costly reminder for food processing companies to stay vigilant when it comes to quality.
After spending $30 million and four years trying to introduce a major new IT system, this large medical provider was running out of ideas to make it work. Proudfoot helped the insurer get back on track by engaging people in the process of digitization.
Santa Monica Seafood is a successful family owned and run business that grew to become a significant player. But with growth comes complexity and eventually the business hit a wall, unable to see how to break through to the next level.
Safety is about enabling things to go right. This radically breaks with traditional thinking which focuses on eliminating things that can go wrong.
In June 2018, Angus Maclean, a leader in Proudfoot’s Global Building Materials Practice discussed next-generation Target Operating Models (TOM) with Global Cement Magazine.
Some things take time and that’s the case for the consulting industry icon, Proudfoot, as they announce the next step in the transformation of a 72-year-old consulting brand with the introduction of their all new leadership team line up in the US.
McKinsey’s 2018 transformation survey casts a dark shadow on the odds of your transformation success: They quote a 74% failure rate. They ask if yours is ‘doomed to fail?’. We’re embarrassed for our industry when we read these results. With statistics like that, I almost want to ask, ‘why bother at all?’ But I know transformation doesn’t have to fail.
