Utilization of Business Diagnostic to Help Launch/Accelerate Your Improvement Strategy

April 22, 2022 | by Steve Dowzicky

Overview

Many companies that are looking to start a Continuous Improvement program know that they need to drive improvement but are unsure of where to start. In many cases, leadership cannot effectively articulate a case for action to multiple levels of the organization and, therefore, the efforts flounder or have several false starts. Competitive Business Solutions brings a structured Business Diagnostic process to analyze a business’s complete order-fulfillment process qualitatively and quantitatively. 

The Challenge

The challenge for many businesses isn’t getting the energy of the organization behind change, or even having effective change agents. In many cases, it is in knowing what the focus of the transformation should be to maximize the benefit to the organization. We find that the most effective way to identify this focus is to perform a comprehensive end-to-end diagnostic of the current state of the order-fulfillment value stream. In so doing, there cannot be ambiguity in the challenges to the operations and in where we should prioritize the efforts to achieve our objectives. Most organizations don’t have the time and/or capability to do this process on their own or are too vested in the business to objectively look across the value stream to uncover the reality of where the business is and what it will take to improve. 

The Approach

The Business Diagnostic is intended to understand the complete value stream as detailed below. We like to break down the diagnostic approach into three phases:

1. Diagnostic kick-off and pre-diagnostic data collection
2. Diagnostic week
3. Diagnostic report out and next steps

Phase 1:  We typically kick off the diagnostic process 2–3 weeks before the on-site visit.  The intent of this kick-off is to determine the list of people whom we would like to interview and who will inform the team. From there, we develop a list of requirements to perform the diagnostic. The data requirements are a mix of MRP product data, business level (sales and EBIT), as well as operations-execution data. Prior to coming on-site, we will perform analyses on these data to help in facilitating the qualitative discussions. In most cases, we will utilize these data during those conversations to support dialogue and develop hypotheses. 

Phase 2: The core of the Business Diagnostic is the actual diagnostic week. Typically, this is a one-week block of time but could be extended due to complexity of the business and availability of site personnel. During this event, we like to sit one-on-one with key members of the business. The interview process starts with the order-acquisition process, progressing to the master scheduling and part-procurement processes, ending with work-order release and factory execution. In each part of the value stream, we quickly understand and document the current state of that function both qualitatively and quantitatively, including how the function interacts with the rest of the business. 

Phase 3: Once Phase 2 is completed with all follow-up data requests fulfilled, the diagnostic team will deliver a preliminary report to the senior leadership team at the site to accomplish the following:  

1. Ensure that the findings are directionally correct against what they believe—where there are gaps, use this time to explore.
2. Align the case for action and supporting data.
3. Agree on the overall focus areas of the business in support of improving the business and priority. Determine what the launch point should be.
4. Assess internal resources, both in terms of capacity and capability, to determine proper resourcing and pacing for needed changes.
   

After this preliminary discussion, the final report is compiled with necessary changes and then presented out to the wider organization. At this point, the process should change from understanding and baselining the organization to improving and transforming the organization. 

“CBS helped our team quickly understand where to focus to maximize our efforts in gaining our business strategy.”
—Client President

Conclusion

CBS believes that the best way to accelerate any improvement activity is to clearly understand the issues, and this objective is best achieved by performing a detailed diagnostic. This does not need to be a time-consuming process, if properly planned and executed. CBS has developed a methodology that accomplishes this goal in an accelerated time frame and with a quality output. We firmly believe that the investment of time up front to quantify the current state of an operation and the associated challenges will contribute to a sharper focus and a significant payoff when the projects are launched and executed. 

About Competitive Business Solutions

Competitive Business Solutions consultants are masters of world-class operating and lean sigma principles. Creative problem-solvers throughout the improvement process—from initial discovery and strategic solution development to implementation and knowledge transfer—CBS consultants take pride in their client relationships, working side by side with every member of on-site teams to identify performance issues quickly and effectively, with significant and sustainable business improvement as a result.