​If you want to improve your retail business, it is vital to understand how to improve operational excellence. The retail industry is undergoing unprecedented disruption. With operational excellence, you can fight back.

However, there are a few tips you can follow to ensure your business meets the demands of the digital age. Listed below are some tips to help your retail business achieve operational excellence. The first thing to remember is that implementing operational excellence requires a comprehensive approach.

- Establish SMART goals. SMART goals stand for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. These goals should be set with a mix of broad and specific KPIs to measure their achievement. Make sure these goals are aligned with the company's mission. Once everyone understands the company's goals and how they tie them to the business strategy, it will be easier to implement changes and achieve success.

- Develop a strategy. The best way to achieve a SMART goal is to develop a strategy and then implement it. There are five key best practices for achieving SMART goals in various industries. Depending on the focus area of the company, each best practice will have different advantages and disadvantages. But if you're trying to make a difference in your company's bottom line, implementing an operational excellence methodology will help you achieve your goals and stay competitive.

- Focus on improving processes. The most effective companies implement processes and strategies to improve their processes. While it is true that achieving a SMART goal involves time-consuming manual work, it is also an excellent way to achieve future-proof your business. To help you improve your operations, consider implementing technology. There are many benefits to implementing technological innovations. You will be able to improve your business while keeping your employees happy.

Read more about how to develop strategy and improve processes for achieving operational excellence here.

- Develop a strong management team. A single team implementing operational excellence should benefit the entire organization. Managing operations will ensure the longevity and success of a company. In addition, operational excellence leads to a higher level of performance. And since it is a process, it can evolve over time. As a result, you must adapt to new trends and continue to improve your business. Once you've mastered operational excellence, you can implement change to achieve the next level of success.

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As per media reports, the company also has had recent issues with debris in its other products i.e. 787 Dreamliners and KC-46A military refueling tankers, which led to two suspensions of deliveries of KC-46As to the US air force.

Foreign object debris, an industrial term for rags, tools, metal shavings and other materials left behind by workers during the assembly line aircraft production process, can raise the risk of electrical short-circuiting and fires.

This typically results from poor employee training coupled with near non-existent in-process quality control systems!

A culture of Kaizen helps bigtime in such cases. Kaizen-based installation of quality systems are extremely effective for all types of workplaces be it- production, assembly-line or service functions. Moreover, combining Kaizen with mistake-proofing tools such as Poka Yoke, the product’s quality as well as safety are further augmented.

To learn more about how Shruti can help your organization achieve new heights or to book a Workshop, Contact Dr. Shruti Bhat via Form or WhatsApp

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To learn more about how Shruti can help your organization achieve new heights or to book a Workshop, Contact Dr. Shruti Bhat via Form or WhatsApp

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Business Process Improvement for Manufacturing & Service Industry by Dr. Shruti Bhat book preview-

One of the first people to describe business processes was Adam Smith (1776) in his famous example of a pin factory. Since then business processes have evolved and better defined. ​

A business process defines the various activities involved in achieving a particular goal. Business processes briefly describe the chain of events that are involved in an activity or a group of activities. It is common to use a business process if the activities have an effect on current products or data and bring about production. 

 Types of business processes include- 
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• Management processes such as Corporate governance, Strategic management, planning and implementation.
• Operational processes, which constitute the core business and create primary value stream. Typically, they include Procurement & sourcing, Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales and Customer service.
• Supporting processes, which support the operational processes and include Finance & Accounting, Recruitment & Human Resources Management, Research and Technical support.

Some examples include invoicing, product shipping details, updating information, tracking orders, allocating budgets etc. Business processes used throughout organization, at any level, are outlined in order to improve organization in an effective and efficient way. There can be several inputs in a business process but there is always only one output or specific goal- that is to help business thrive.

Business processes are used practically in any organization and throughout an organization at any level. They are used in a variety of industries such as private, public sector, government, departments, hospitals, charities etc. Business processes are, typically outlined in order to improve an organization in an effective and efficient way.

Various computer software make it possible to create business processes on a computer, however simple business processes are just as effective when written with pen and paper. Some even find it better to jot down the processes on a piece of paper, or on several small ones, in order to kick start their creativity and thinking process. It is up to the professional (and/or organization) to decide whether a software or traditional method will work best for them. Business processes work best when there is input, support and ideas from various people that are involved in the organization (or department).

Key business processes are logically grouped related tasks and activities, independent of the organization’s structure, which utilize the resources of the organization to produce specific results. They possess measurable inputs & outputs, value addition and repeatable activity.

Tip- The effective management of key business process requires- Ownership & planning, performance metrics & control, process qualification, management and improvement methodology.

A business process always begins with a customer’s need and ends with a customer’s need fulfilment.

Customer needs change, technologies change, government policies change, competition changes and what used to be a high level of performance becomes a poor one and it’s time to replace the formerly good process with a new one- only every process cycle should have this capacity of identification, in-built in its charter.

As a practicing Business Transformation expert of many years, I am happy to mention here few case studies, nay success stories. Let me share three examples-

1. A consumer goods manufacturing company redesigned its product deployment process, by means of which, it now manufactures goods and delivers them to its distribution center such that inventory uptake was reduced by 35%, while stock-out goods situation declined by 70%.
2. A pharmaceutical company created a new product development process, which reduced time to market by 75%, development costs by 45% and increased productivity by 30%.
3. An engineering goods manufacturing organization increased its product delivery targets by 350% and reduced its supply chain costs by up to 55%. Something to note in these is the simultaneous achievement of apparently incompatible goals for e.g. reducing inventory while also reducing out –of-stocks.

Traditional organizations view these as conflicting goals and trade off against another. While process managed organizations, recognize that such payoffs, are achieved by improving business processes and continually maintain their business process efficient. So how do we go about bringing on a process change?

Three main categories of business process improvement techniques, have been found to be extremely effective in managing, expanding and /or transforming businesses worldwide including USA, Canada, Latin America and the emerging economies. They are – Breakthrough improvement, Streamlined improvement and Continuous improvement. The 18 methodologies described in this book belong to one or many of these three main categories.

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In this book, you will learn about: 
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• What is a business process? What are different types of business processes? Why improve a business process?
• 18 different business process improvement methodologies including Lean, ISO, Kaizen, Six Sigma, Capability maturity model integration (CMMI) etc.
• Advantages of each business improvement methodology. Precautions needed before implementing a methodology at your workplace.
• Strategic planning and risk assessments involved prior to implementing a business process improvement methodology.
• References of their use by startups, small companies who later on became big corporate houses and Fortune 500 companies.
• Tips to maximize positive results from executing business process improvement methodologies for your organization.

This book presents a practical way to build and improve business processes, and assists professionals whether they are learning the basics of business process improvement, planning their first improvement project, or evangelizing process-oriented thinking throughout their organization.

Dr. Shruti Bhat is an award-winning Business Excellence Leader, Global Continuous Improvement Mastermind, Best-selling Author and Speaker. She is Continuous Improvement Advisor to several start-ups, mid-size and growing firms in Canada, USA, India, Africa and Emerging markets. She has authored eight business books and is an invited speaker at several national and international conferences, symposia and workshops.

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​#DrShrutiBhat  #ContinuousImprovementAcademy  #Manufacturing #Lean #ProcessExcellence  #ContinuousImprovement #Kaizen  #QualityImprovement  #Innoworks  #Innovation  #Quality  #eLearning  #Business  #BusinessProcessManagement  #ServiceIndustry  #ManufacturingManagement  #LeanInnovation  #Pharmaceutical  #LifeScience  #Food  #Beverage  #Biotechnology  #Retail  #Cosmetics  #PersonalProducts  #Chemicals  #Drugs #Engineering #ShiftingParadigms #BPM  #LeanManagement  #KaizenLeaderMasterclass  #LeanSixSigma  #Kanban  #FMEA  #RiskManagement  #Speaker  #KaizenTrainingAcademy​

This is definitely is an exciting time for telecos because of rising opportunities to collaborate for growth. Telecos can be best partners to any government, city or local administration. Together they can not only solve connectivity problems but reduce the cost of delivering public services for example- increased security for women travelling at night, reduced stress for commuters trying to rearrange an appointment etc.

The long-permitted concept of omnichannel, in which various distribution channels are truly integrated, is finally becoming a reality; with mobile and web gotten seamlessly connected, and automation and personalization possible with advanced analytics. These factors present a chance to take customer engagement to a new level accelerating ROI.

This article (parts 1 and 2) touches upon how to improve sales and marketing efforts of telecos via Agile and Lean Kaizen.

But, firstly, let’s take a quick look at results of telecos SWOT analysis-

One of the threats that has exposed the old way of doing telecom business is from over-the-top (OTT) players such as WhatsApp, Apple’s FaceTime and Tencent’s WeChat.

Market research data indicates that the OTT players are growing quickly and could decrease customer spending on traditional fixed and mobile communication services by up to 36%, which will put a pressure on telecos market share as well as revenues.

Improved customer engagement using a strategically structured digital marketing and sales approach, regardless of their digital maturity, will bring-in a breath of fresh oxygen for these telecos; though companies that advance their digital customer engagement will experience the biggest upside.

Moreover, this digital sales and marketing process (improvement) is likely to ring-in 10 to 40% increase in ROI in the first year of implementation. So, how to make this possible?

Here are seven salient points of digital customer engagement for telecos to generate 10- 40% ROI:
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1. Drive customer acquisition by increasing incoming traffic (via SEO) and lead conversion.
2. Transform internal processes to speed up value capture via agile marketing.
3. Drive customer value through personalized outreach and cross-sell.
4. Improve agency consolidations.
5. Manage vendor relationships.
6. Build cross-functional employee teams.
7. Build technology stack, advanced analytics, optimized targeting and personalization at scale, leveraging both internal and external data.

​To pursue such supercharged digital marketing- based customer engagement, the incumbent telecos must start out by the organization’s top leadership’s total commitment to this goal, choosing the right change management and business process improvement methodology to succeed attaining the initiative, keep the process improvement excitement brimming by appropriate employee engagement and investment into new ways of working.

Part 2 of this article series will touch upon the sales & marketing process problems (within telecos), recommended solutions, Agile and Lean Kaizen process improvement strategy to bring telecos marketing & sales up to speed and excel!

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​
#telecom #Lean #ProcessExcellence  #ContinuousImprovement #Kaizen  #ServiceIndustry   #Agile #AgileKaizen     #telecos #Kaizen

​Born at Toyota, Lean is a lighter, leaner way to achieve results. A Lean process is ruthless about getting rid of errors, steps, processes and people that don’t add value to a company’s products or services.

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​Keywords and Tags:

​#Manufacturing #Lean #ContinuousImprovement #Kaizen  #QualityImprovement   #BusinessProcessManagement  #ServiceIndustry  #ManufacturingManagement   #LeanManagement #KaizenLeaderMasterclass #LeanSixSigma #LeanManifesto #LeanManufacturing

About Shruti Bhat PhD, MBA, Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
 
Dr. Shruti Bhat is an award-winning Business Excellence Leader, Global Continuous Improvement Mastermind, Best-selling Author and Speaker. She is Continuous Improvement Advisor to several start-ups, mid-size and growing firms in Canada, USA, India, Africa and Emerging markets. She has authored eight business books and is an invited speaker at several national and international conferences, symposia and workshops.

Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn
 

​Keywords and Tags:
#Manufacturing #ContinuousImprovement #QualityImprovement  #Innoworks  #eLearning  #ServiceIndustry   #ShiftingParadigms #BPM  #LeanManagement  #KaizenLeaderMasterclass  #LeanSixSigma  #Kanban