Business Issue Closing the books each month was taking 14+ days preventing proactive management by a Finance Organization. Approach Flow consultants prepared for and facilitated a 4-day Kaizen with a cross-functional team from the Finance Organization. The team addressed the following areas: •Conducted a baseline of the existing process. •Identified wastes — poor quality of … [Read more...]
Business Process Improvement Case Studies
Closing Process Improved by 300%
Business Issue $10B integrated Energy Company that provides power generation and services for industrial and retail residential consumers is growing by rapid acquisition and unable to close their books in a timely manner impacting:
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Timely financial reporting
Accuracy in financial reporting
Labor effectiveness
Effectiveness and accuracy of other key processes: Invoicing, AP, … [Read more...]
Inquiry-to-Quote Process Yields Poor Results
Business Issue A manufacturer of engineered valves to the oil and gas industry’s Inquiry-to-Quote process was utilizing a large amount of sales and engineering resources while at the same time yielding the following poor results:
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Low win rate
Incorrect product and plant determination
Long quote response time and high design rework after project win.
Robust Annual Growth Stresses Supply Chain, Planning Processes
Business Issue A $40 million premium-brand consumer product company experienced multiple years of nearly 100% annual growth, placing intense stress on its supply chain and overall business planning processes in the following ways:
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Up to six versions of forecasts and supply plans monthly used by management.
Disconnect between Operations and Sales resulting in a lack of trust … [Read more...]
Forecasting and Inventory Turns Improvement Needed
Business Issue A $1 billion, 3,000 employee worldwide division of a mineral drilling manufacturer with three manufacturing locations and 26 field sales locations needed to improve forecasting and inventory turns. Phase one of the project was to improve sales-demand forecasting in North America to:
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Improve forecast accuracy
Increase forecast coverage from 25% to 70% of COGS … [Read more...]
Strategic Planning and Implementation
Business Issue 1 Manufacturer Faces Global Competition Global industry leading manufacturer of fastening devices required a new strategy to address growing global competition and emerging product substitutes. Business Issue 2 Security Firm Requires High-Growth Strategy Global provider of security and investigations required a high-growth strategy in a turnaround environment, having executed … [Read more...]