OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
In our supply chain excellence driven world,
operational improments need to serve the
overall flow
•
There are plenty of opportunities, every
day, to improve operational
performance. In every area of the supply
chain, and in the individual processes
•
But supply chains are highly networked;
internally, and also externally. In order to
achieve sustainable operational
improvements, there are two main
starting points for operational
improvements:
o
Integrative Planning: How to establish
planning and coordination
mechanisms which enable that the
plans of each area fit to each other,
and how to create seamless
information flows
o
Integrative “Operational Excellence”:
How to establish a very high level of
functional excellence in each area of
the supply chain, and the entire value
chain, to have highest performance
internally, but also to deliver the right
kind of information or products to the
other areas in the chain, in the quality
and timing they require.
•
In many companies, there is already a
legacy from decades of all kinds of
department based operational
improvements. But mostly these are within
the “walls”. The next level of improvement
quality is to work on functional excellence
improvements which drive the horizontal
excellence.
•
The exhibit provides some improvement
examples from a machinery client -
based on the individual orders, and often
project type of order and delivery
managemen of this industry, it results into
a specific set of required functional
excellence improvements which serve
the overall flow, and order progress. For
other companies, a different set of
measures will apply. And for other
industries as well
•
For more details on integrative planning,
see the planning excellence section.
In our service offerings, we identify how to shape your
operations towards higher performance levels:
•
Identification of strengths and weaknesses in key
processes of the supply chain related operations. In
order to focus your time and energy, we look at two
key processes which provide us with more than 80% of
the insights required for overall supply chain
performance enhancements, and value chain
optimization
•
Root cause and impact analysis on the weaknesses,
prioritization of the main obstacles and drivers of non-
performance, in order to identify which type of
improvement is required
•
Focus are measures which improve functional
excellence which serve the horizontal excellence. But
often we also find underrated vertical excellence as a
problem area, which will be included in the overall set
of suggested improvements
•
In this context, we often find the necessity for defining
and designing individual supply chain types (e.g. spare
parts vs new products; high volume production vs
specialty / customized production) which each then
might have a slightly different set of required (new)
enablers, and operational improvements
•
And, as always in our focus, define measures and
enablers for enhancing agility and resilience of
operations along the end-to-end supply chain
Leverage on insights regarding performance improvements
•
We reference in our work on the drivers of operational supply
chain excellence, identified during our research.
•
As important as considering these types of improvements, is to
implement measures increasing the agility level in the company
to cope with the challenges of today’s volatile business world.