Businesses continue to cut back as the economy continues to worsen - seemingly every day. Cutting costs in a reasonable and smart manner is required; however, cost cutting alone rarely achieves success. As one of my mentors used to say, the best problem to have is a cost problem [...]
Learn how your business stacks up with internal and external strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), then take action. Volatility is here to stay! Even though we continue to drudge along in the lackluster recovery, excitement remains - earthquakes, nuclear disasters, global conflicts in Libya, oil prices skyrocketing again, [...]
If you notice and act upon trends, you will succeed. In my 20 years of experience across multiple industries and globally, I've found that a secret to success is identifying trends EARLY in the process and then acting upon them as it makes sense. Lately, I've had a plethora [...]
Business process improvement has almost become a "buzzword" - sounds good but what does it mean? What is really accomplished? Many times, companies create volumes of 1-inch thick binders of best practice processes, and yet achieve no bottom line results. Anyone seen these binders collecting dust on the bookshelf? [...]
My finance mentor definitely signifies "profit through people". I learned more from him about how to make a profit in the years we worked together than my BSBA, MBA (in Finance) and all the training classes over the years combined. He took all the complex terminology, confusing formulas and [...]
Businesses should always look for ways to increase cash flow. Here are a few ideas to pursue: It's not what you make; it's what you keep: As obvious as this sounds, it is easy to get caught up in the opposite of what will increase your cash flow - [...]
Prepare, prepare, and prepare: 80% of your success is in preparation. Organize the warehouse, clearly mark areas, label exceptions, complete and review system transactions, etc. Stop / isolate movement: When you begin your physical count, stop all physical and system movements and transactions. This is a critical foundation - [...]
A few best practices for reducing inventory levels without negatively impacting customer service include the following: Put the "right" people in the "right" jobs - it is amazing how much this one point contributes to success. Managing inventory levels requires a unique skill set - analysis, seeing the bigger [...]
Do these hypothetical situations sound familiar? Acme Company has a large, priority customer called Wylie Company. Acme must service Wylie flawlessly to maintain the contract, so to ensure stock is always available when Wylie needs it, Acme agrees to a guaranteed safety stock level for Wylie. And, Acme ends [...]
I am a supply chain and operations consultant and former executive. Based on my experiences, I have seen many companies look for the "magic ingredient" in how to achieve profitability. Several high-priced consultants and programs (such as Six Sigma, Total Quality Management and Toyota Production System) later, the company [...]
