Change Management - Identifying Difficult People

In many improvement projects, it has been found that improvements either fail to take place or are only partially successful due to the resistance / non-cooperation (active or passive) by the stakeholders involved. This negative impact may also get magnified if other people also start doing the same which can derail entire improvement initiative also.

Hence, successful execution of improvement projects requires dealing with such people through change management. But what this requires is to first identify the type of difficult persons & then dealing with them accordingly.

 We can categorize such people in following groups:

• The "Know Everything" people: These people generally display arrogance & show that they know everything by offering opinions on every topics, including technical things outside their expertise & become loud & defensive when proven to be wrong.  

• The "No Opinion" people: As the name suggests, these people generally play it very safely & offer no opinions. And even when being specifically asked, they answer i either vague language or in such a way that it becomes difficult to understand what they want to say. 
• The Dominant People: These people have a bullying & intimidating nature. They wish to dominate the proceedings or discussions, are severely critical of other people opinions & decisions & are constantly demanding attention.
• The "Always Yes" People: These people generally agree to everything which may also include making commitments  to important tasks. But problems arise when very often they fail to deliver or deliver only partially of what was required which may also have a negative cascading effect in the whole project. Due to this, these people also are not very reliable in follow-up tasks.
• The "Always No" People: These people have a very rigid approach & are inflexible. Although they have a very good quality of playing by the rule-book but this approach often backfires also in crisis times or when some pro-activeness is required. They are also the ones to criticize & find negatives in whatever decisions are taken. 
• The "Complaining" People: These people are always complaining about one thing or another to show why they are unable to do their tasks & want others to help them even if other tasks remain pending, howsoever important these tasks maybe. In a nutshell, nothing seems to be right with them at all the times. 

Change Management : Essential Ingredients

Change is an essential part of nature - every day we see it with day & night & every year we see in forms of changing seasons. But still change is feared as it requires adapting to the changed conditions. Same is the case with the business organizations & people managing them as ever-changing market conditions & business environment requires making regular changes which often needs stepping out of comfort zones, for which many are not ready & when forced to change, are often left clueless & wondering how to do it.

Change Management is a dynamic approach which helps the organizations manage this confusion & provides a structural way for it to adapt itself successfully to not only to implement change in all its processes & activities but also to "embrace it enthusiastically" by making it a part of its culture & working methods. But its easier said than done & is often a very complex exercise as it not just implementation of certain tools but also dealing with the human element which can be unpredictable & requires making painstaking efforts to manage it.

The essential ingredients of running a successful business are People, Process & Technology. All three have to work in close coordination & should be in sync with each other for achieving the greater goals of the organization., Some essential steps in doing it are: 

• Overall success of the change management depends on the people managing the organization, starting with the top management as they are running the show. Its very important to get them on board & commit to the required adaptations & then filtering this down to the lower levels of management as they are doing the day-to-day running of the organization. Required job roles with responsibilities would need to be decided & people with the required skills & qualifications would have to be selected to manage them. 
• A suitable strategy would have to be formulated, supported by robust & flexible processes which help in implementing the change management in the organization, Timelines & goals would have to be fixed after careful analysis to help in achieving the pre-determined goals. Of course, only willingness is not sufficient as close monitoring would also have to be done at appropriate levels to see the changes being implemented & deal with any issues & problems that may arise from time to time.
• Suitable technology (as per affordability of the organization) would have to be deployed to bring together the people & the processes & keep them in alignment in pursuit of the goals. People, process & technology working in sync with each other can help the organizations immensely becoming lean, be more responsible towards meeting their compliance requirements, reduce their operational costs & waste, & most importantly be more responsive to the customer needs & market conditions & continue to be relevant even when many of their competitors have ceased to exist long ago. 

Forecasting: Why is it required?

Forecasting in business is a very critical activity done by organizations to predict future outcomes based on historical data & the management views for budgeting, planning & estimation in order to prepare the organization to achieve its goals & targets. It helps in determining the success of the business & minimizing the role of “luck, chance, gut feeling, etc.” in critical business decisions.

1. Promotion of business: Forecasting helps in the promotion of business by anticipating the uncertainties and risks in the business & taking appropriate measures. It also helps in estimating the demand for products & services & how to increase the demand, how the organization will face the competition, etc.

2. Efficient capital utilization: The capital requirements of a business depend entirely on sound financial forecasting. Forecasting helps in estimating the financial requirements of a business & efficient utilization of the capital by calculating the potential sales & costs & forecast the funds required for other important things like expansion, development etc.

3. Smooth running of business:  Accurate forecasting helps the organizations know their expected earnings to regulate their cash flow to meet their operational expenses & other financial commitments.  

4. Good decision making: The correctness of management decisions related to utilization of resources for production, is heavily dependent on accurate forecasting. It also helps the business to face adverse conditions & unforeseen contingencies.

5. Success in business: Accurate sales forecasting helps in preparation of plans of other depts in the organization like procurement of raw materials, financial planning of working capital, manpower planning about how much people are required, production planning about what & how much to produce, etc.

6. Plan Formulation: Forecasting is an essential element in planning since planning premises include forecast data having enormous implications. In fact, forecasting is done prior to planning in order to make effective & robust business plans. Hence, forecasting and planning are closely related & so is their success.

7. Co-Operation and co-ordination: Forecasting is a herculean task that requires cooperation & coordination between all the depts in a company. A crucial byproduct of forecasting is team spirit and coordination which greatly improves the work culture in the organization.

8. Effective Control: Forecasting helps the different depts. & their key decision makers about their weaknesses & helps in implementing appropriate measures to overcome these weaknesses & achieve better control they can overcome these weaknesses.

Cost of "Not Improving" 

Just few weeks ago, General Electric (GE) was dropped for the first time from the Dow Jones Index in over 110 years. Also. GE happened to be the last original member of the group when Dow Jones started. If one looks at the The Dow Jones Index of 1995, one would find that about half of the companies there have been replaced with others in just last 20 years.

What it shows is that in today's rapidly changing business environment, an organization has to continuous keep on adapting itself to survive & be relevant in the marketplace. In spite of this, many organizations function at a very slow pace & in a very rigid manner not realizing that it can prove very costly in the long run. Delay in taking decisions, losing opportunities, waste in operational processes, wrong selection of people etc are the symptoms of the work culture of such organizations.

Such kind of working may be alright when things are alright but can be disastrous in case of any adverse conditions. This "Cost of Not Improving" in an organization's functioning, culture & mindset can threaten the very survival of the organization & also can make the organization severely suffer in the following ways: 

• Slow decision making due to multiple layers of decision making or due to a "person specific approach" rather than a "process specific approach" could result in costly delays in taking critical business decisions
• Not taking timely actions, thus encouraging a "bureaucratic culture" in the organization which encourages just pushing files from one desk to another, rather than approving them quickly
• People at important positions are appointed or selected based more on "personal preferences" or "personal connections" rather than their abilities, qualifications or experience
• Cost escalations due to delay in decision making
• Taking temporary short-term measures for long term problems
• Doing patchwork solutions where deep surgery is required
• Taking action only after a problem becomes a crisis
• Not keeping up with the competitors product offerings & decisions even if its affecting your own business, branding & market share
• Giving low priority to preventive measures to address problems
• Not taking suitable action to maintain your competitive edge in the market
• Lost opportunities due to lack of timely decisions & action  
• Endlessly waiting for information    
• Very less or lack of interaction with vendors severely undermining their own capabilities & advantages.  

Human Mistakes - What are they???

Human errors are caused by human beings & can be defined as “An inappropriate action or response by a person which gives an undesired or unexpected outcome.” The major reason for human error is that Human performance is variable & not constant. Another major reason is that the monitoring & measuring mechanism of error detection & error correction has flaws or weak controls, which allows the error to occur.
Types of Human Mistakes
•Forgetfulness - These mistakes are most common caused by not concentrating.
•Miscommunication - These mistakes are caused by not reading the instructions and jumping to conclusions
•Error in Identification - Wrong judgment by humans and not identifying the factors properly
•Errors by Untrained Workers - Lack of imparting training to workers or deploying workers in projects where they are not trained to work
•Willful errors - Deliberately ignoring rules, may be due to pressure situations like lack of time or resources, etc.
•Inadvertent errors - Errors caused by distraction or fatigue or similar reasons
•Slowness - Errors caused by delay in judgment and taking action when its too late
•Lack of standards - Errors caused by not having or following any standards(written or visual)
•Surprise errors - Errors caused by malfunctioning of machines, machine breakdown or machine not capable of doing the desired work
•Intentional errors - Least caused. Errors caused intentionally like sabotage or terrorist acts.
For detailed information, pls watch the following video:

How to Plan a Gemba Walk?

Lean lays a lot of stress on "Gemba Walk" to identify the waste in the process & bring about improvements. But what is this Gemba??

What is Gemba? 

Gemba is a Japanese term which literally means "the real place". In business, gemba means the place where the value is created, which primarily refers to the factory floor or the office floor. 

What is a Gemba Walk? 

Gemba Walk means observing the work process at the actual place where the work is taking place. Lean emphasizes that managers at all levels should regularly go for Gemba Walks so that problems in a process are clearly visible at the production floor or office floor. Most of the improvement ideas also come from the same place. 

How to Plan a Gemba Walk?

Its very easy for a manager to go for a walk on the factory floor or the office floor to observe what is happening. But without a definite purpose & plan for it, it will just create more waste. Planning a "Gemba Walk" will require some planning in a systematic manner:  

• Identify the purpose for the Gemba Walk
• The work process, its inputs, working method & expected output should be understood clearly
• The time for observation should be carefully decided to ensure that the visit happens at the right time for observing the process in action
• Identify the right place to observe where work is being done and value is being created in the process
• Carefully observe the work processes and activities to understand the current performance of the process. Take down notes and detailed drawings wherever required for later recalling what was observed
• Based on the understanding of he process, evaluate the current process performance & compare with the ideal state to identify the gaps and weak links. Discuss with the team and other stakeholders involved in the process, wherever required to come at a definite outcome
• Identify the opportunities for improvement based on observations & in discussion with all the stakeholders involved in the process, as per their expertise & discuss possible ways for solving the issues and problems found in the process

Life Lessons Hidden in Everyday Jokes !!!

Life experiences are full of lessons, provided one has the mindset to read the hidden meaning in it. Even the everyday jokes that we see, hear or read has some important message in it for us.


Joke # 1
Doctor: Your Liver is enlarged.
Patient: Does that mean it has space for more whisky?
(This is called "Positive Thinking")

Lesson: Positive Thinking is a very important trait of life that always tells us to always look at the brighter side off things to get Positive Results. A person with this attitude always displays happiness, health & success & has immense self-belief which can help in overcoming any problem or difficulty.

Joke # 2
Lady to her dietician :- What l am worried about is my height and not my weight.
Doc :- How come???
Lady :- According to my weight, my height should be 7.8 feet...
(Now this is called "Positive Attitude" )

Lesson: Positive Attitude is a way of life that makes a person optimist by nature & always looking at the brighter sides of life & expecting the best to happen. It is a mindset that brings positive thinking and avoid worries and negative thoughts. 

Joke # 3
A Man wrote to the bank. "My Cheque was returned with remark "Insufficient funds'. I want to know whether it refers to mine or the Bank".
(This is self confidence in its peak)

Lesson: Self-confidence is the one's belief in his/her capabilities and skills. It helps in completing one's responsibilities as expected and face the problems with determination. It also helps in controlling of one's emotions and behavior responsibly.

Reading these hidden messages & then applying in our lives can make us much better in:

• organizing our work and life
• having a clear and analytical thinking
• having a calm and composed demeanor 
• having a clear communication with the right words
• always conscious of behaving appropriately to be an inspiration to others
• facing the responsibilities and problems at hand with confidence.  
• seeking help wherever required without any ego
• admitting to mistakes sincerely and apologizing for it
• appreciating others, especially the subordinates for good performance.   

Hence, it is imperative for us to be positive even in difficult situations through positive thinking, having a positive attitude & have self-confidence in our abilities to achieve our goals, as expected.
There can be many other qualities & traits that can be mentioned but the important ingredients are given here, most of which sbiuld be there. Doing this would create a leader out of a mere manager......

       How to develop a Problem Solving  Culture !!!

It is often seen that many organizations constantly face problems. After one problem is solved, another problem is already there knocking on the door making its presence visible in one form or the other. In such organizations, problems are solved without trying to ascertain the reason behind the problem. 

"Firefighting", as it is commonly known, is a type of negative culture affecting many business organizations which focuses on finding immediate solutions to the problems. Such organizations move from crisis to crisis. A Fireman emerges who douses the fire earning the appreciation of the Top Management. Almost no effort is made to evaluate why the crisis occurred in the first place. Eventually, this becomes the norm rather than exception in the organization and Firemen are given preference over all other people.

The solution to this is to develop a "Problem Solving Culture" in the organization where problems and issues are solved through a structured process by a cross-functional team, who have people with the required skills & training to develop & implement solutions for the problems at hand. Such kind of negative culture can be corrected by making serious efforts & taking some concrete steps: 

•Start solving a problem only when its root cause has been identified
•Discourage Quick Fix solutions. Quick fix solutions should be implemented only after careful evaluation
•Avoid solving individual problems unless it assumes critical proportions
•Train the problem solvers to go for the root cause and not just the visible symptoms
•Encourage developing a mindset of “Preventing Problems” among staff rather than “Solving Problems”
•Discourage rewarding Firefighting persons
•Encourage rewarding persons who practice prevention and systematic problem solving
•Apply solutions only after evaluating their impact
•Prioritize your problems
•Set realistic timelines to avoid last minute hassles
•Develop a structured and systematic way of problem solving

               

Hurdles in Lean Implementation

Lean has often been discussed as a solution for all the problems afflicting a business organization. But it is also a bitter truth that lean has very often failed also in numerous organizations, due to mainly the following reasons;

1. Top management itself putting hurdles in lean implementation through pushing the subordinate managers to take up current issues & pushing Lean initiatives in the background thus giving passive encouragement to "Firefighting"
2. Operational resistance to lean implementation due to fear of "job loss" which increases mainly due to "one way" line of communication between upper ad lower levels in the organization
3. Launching lean initiatives without explaining its meaning and benefits to the employees or answering their doubts & queries
4. Cultural differences due to ethnic, language or any other issues which create lack of acceptability among the employees
5. Lack of adaptability to quickly change as per the market conditions, especially in organizations producing or dealing in a large variety of products in :

• changes in product portfolios as per customer demand
• changes in product design
• quick delivery of customer orders
• quick liquidation of dead inventory

6. Treating "Reduction in Inventory" as a 'Business Asset loss" due to successful implementation of few lean projects

7. Long decision making processes

8. Limited or no resources for lean projects

9. Communication barriers between different levels in the organization leading to "lack of transparency"

10. Lastly, hiring a Consultant for Lean Implementation but not listening to their advice and giving them unreasonable timelines and targets.

Data not available for your Six Sigma Project - No Problem !!!!

Although data is a very critical requirement for Lean Six Sigma projects, still there are situations like organizations which have just started Lean Six Sigma implementation, where data is not at all available or whatever data is available is very unreliable or can't be verified due to unavailability of process experts.

Many people would say that a Lean Six Sigma approach is not possible due to unavailability of data, still a project can be done through the same methodology by:

• The Project Charter would comprise of the usual business case, problem, potential goals, project team & SIPOC with high level process map. But the difference would be that the problem & potential goals would be qualitative rather than quantitative.
• A detailed process mapping exercise could be conducted for detailed understanding of the process, with possible measures & metrics. The detailed process map can be used to do a value stream analysis of the process & collect the relevant data for the same.
• An initial FMEA could be done by the team to address the process weaknesses & a Cause & Effect (Fishbone) diagram exercise could be done to identify the possible x's. Once the x's are identified, data can be collected for these x's & a MSA can be done using them.
• Once the data is collected, our project becomes a typical Lean Six Sigma project & can be done using the same DMAIC approach, as used in other DMAIC projects where data is normally available.

Lean Six Sigma Glossary & Terminologies

5S

What is 5S?
Organize the work area:

Sort (eliminate that which is not needed)
Set In Order (organize remaining items)
Shine (clean and inspect work area)
Standardize (write standards for above)
Sustain (regularly apply the standards)

How does 5S help?
Eliminates waste that results from a poorly organized work area (e.g. wasting time looking for a tool).

Why & where 5S can be used?

5S is a system for organizing spaces so work can be performed efficiently, effectively, and safely. It focuses on putting everything where it belongs and keeping the workplace clean, which makes it easier for people to do their jobs safely and efficiently. 

Andon

What is Andon?
Visual feedback system for the plant floor that indicates production status, alerts when assistance is needed, and empowers operators to stop the production process.

How does Andon help?
Acts as a real-time communication tool for the plant floor that brings immediate attention to problems as they occur – so they can be instantly addressed.

Where Andon can be used?

Andon means "light" or "sign" in lean manufacturing where it is used as a signal to highlight an anomaly using a visual system of communication that is often relayed with a lit signboard or stacked lights.  In manufacturing, it refers to a system having an electronic device that uses some form of signal lights to notify maintenance, management, and other workers of a process or quality problem.

Bottleneck Analysis

What is Bottleneck Analysis?

Identify which part of the manufacturing process limits the overall throughput and improve the performance of that part of the process.

How does Bottleneck Analysis help?
Improves throughput by strengthening the weakest link in the manufacturing process.

Continuous Flow

What is Continuous Flow?
Manufacturing where work-in-process smoothly flows through production with minimal (or no) buffers between steps of the manufacturing process.

How does Continuous Flow help?
Eliminates many forms of waste (e.g. inventory, waiting time, and transport).

Gemba (The Real Place)

What is Gemba?
A philosophy that reminds us to get out of our offices and spend time on the plant floor – the place where real action occurs.

How does Gemba help?
Promotes a deep and thorough understanding of real-world manufacturing issues – by first-hand observation and by talking with plant floor employees.

Heijunka (Level Scheduling)

What is Heijunka?
A form of production scheduling that purposely manufactures in much smaller batches by sequencing (mixing) product variants within the same process.

How does Heijunka help?
Reduces lead times (since each product or variant is manufactured more frequently) and inventory (since batches are smaller).

Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment)

What is Hoshin Kanri?
Align the goals of the company (Strategy), with the plans of middle management (Tactics) and the work performed on the plant floor (Action).

How does Hoshin Kanri help?
Ensures that progress towards strategic goals is consistent and thorough – eliminating the waste that comes from poor communication and inconsistent direction.

Jidoka (Autonomation)

What is Jidoka?
Design equipment to partially automate the manufacturing process (partial automation is typically much less expensive than full automation) and to automatically stop when defects are detected.

How does Jidoka help?
After Jidoka, workers can frequently monitor multiple stations (reducing labor costs) and many quality issues can be detected immediately (improving quality).

Just-In-Time (JIT)

What is Just-In-Time?
Pull parts through production based on customer demand instead of pushing parts through production based on projected demand. Relies on many lean tools, such as Continuous Flow, Heijunka, Kanban, Standardized Work and Takt Time.

How does Just-In-Time help?
Highly effective in reducing inventory levels. Improves cash flow and reduces space requirements.

Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)

What is Kaizen?

A strategy where employees work together proactively to achieve regular, incremental improvements in the manufacturing process.

How does Kaizen help?
Combines the collective talents of a company to create an engine for continually eliminating waste from manufacturing processes.

Kanban (Pull System)

What is Kanban?
A method of regulating the flow of goods both within the factory and with outside suppliers and customers. Based on automatic replenishment through signal cards that indicate when more goods are needed.

How does Kanban help?
Eliminates waste from inventory and overproduction. Can eliminate the need for physical inventories (instead relying on signal cards to indicate when more goods need to be ordered).

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

What are KPIs?

Metrics designed to track and encourage progress towards critical goals of the organization. Strongly promoted KPIs can be extremely powerful drivers of behavior – so it is important to carefully select KPIs that will drive desired behavior.

How do KPIs help?
The best manufacturing KPIs:
Are aligned with top-level strategic goals (thus helping to achieve those goals)
Are effective at exposing and quantifying waste (OEE is a good example)
Are readily influenced by plant floor employees (so they can drive results)

Muda (Waste)

What is Muda?
Anything in the manufacturing process that does not add value from the customer’s perspective.

How does Muda help?
It doesn’t. Muda means ‘waste’. The elimination of muda (waste) is the primary focus of lean manufacturing.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

What is Overall Equipment Effectiveness?
Framework for measuring productivity loss for a given manufacturing process. Three categories of loss are tracked:
Availability (e.g. downtime)
Performance (e.g. slow cycles)
Quality (e.g. rejects)
How does Overall Equipment Effectiveness help?
Provides a benchmark/baseline and a means to track progress in eliminating waste from a manufacturing process. 100% OEE means perfect production (manufacturing only good parts, as fast as possible, with no downtime).

PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)

What is PDCA?
An iterative methodology for implementing improvements:
Plan (establish plan and expected results)
Do (implement plan)
Check (verify expected results achieved)
Act (review and assess; do it again)

How does PDCA help?
Applies a scientific approach to making improvements:
Plan (develop a hypothesis)
Do (run experiment)
Check (evaluate results)
Act (refine your experiment; try again)

Poka-Yoke (Error Proofing)

What is Poka-Yoke?
Design error detection and prevention into production processes with the goal of achieving zero defects.

How does Poka-Yoke help?
It is difficult (and expensive) to find all defects through inspection, and correcting defects typically gets significantly more expensive at each stage of production.

Root Cause Analysis

What is Root Cause Analysis?
A problem solving methodology that focuses on resolving the underlying problem instead of applying quick fixes that only treat immediate symptoms of the problem. A common approach is to ask why five times – each time moving a step closer to discovering the true underlying problem.

How does Root Cause Analysis help?
Helps to ensure that a problem is truly eliminated by applying corrective action to the “root cause” of the problem.

Single-Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)

What is Single-Minute Exchange of Dies?
Reduce setup (changeover) time to less than 10 minutes. Techniques include:
Convert setup steps to be external (performed while the process is running)
Simplify internal setup (e.g. replace bolts with knobs and levers)
Eliminate non-essential operations
Create Standardized Work instructions

How does Single-Minute Exchange of Dies help?
Enables manufacturing in smaller lots, reduces inventory, and improves customer responsiveness.

Six Big Losses

What is Six Big Losses?
Six categories of productivity loss that are almost universally experienced in manufacturing:
Breakdowns
Setup/Adjustments
Small Stops
Reduced Speed
Startup Rejects
Production Rejects.

How does Six Big Losses help?
Provides a framework for attacking the most common causes of waste in manufacturing.

SMART Goals

What are SMART Goals?

Goals that are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Specific.

How do SMART Goals help?
Helps to ensure that goals are effective.

Standardized Work

What is Standardized Work?
Documented procedures for manufacturing that capture best practices (including the time to complete each task). Must be “living” documentation that is easy to change.

How does Standardized Work help?
Eliminates waste by consistently applying best practices. Forms a baseline for future improvement activities.

Takt Time

What is Takt Time?
The pace of production (e.g. manufacturing one piece every 34 seconds) that aligns production with customer demand. Calculated as Planned Production Time / Customer Demand.

How does Takt Time help?
Provides a simple, consistent and intuitive method of pacing production. Is easily extended to provide an efficiency goal for the plant floor (Actual Pieces / Target Pieces).

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

What is Total Productive Maintenance?
A holistic approach to maintenance that focuses on proactive and preventative maintenance to maximize the operational time of equipment. TPM blurs the distinction between maintenance and production by placing a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help maintain their equipment.

How does Total Productive Maintenance help?
Creates a shared responsibility for equipment that encourages greater involvement by plant floor workers. In the right environment this can be very effective in improving productivity (increasing up time, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects).

Value Stream Mapping

What is Value Stream Mapping?
A tool used to visually map the flow of production. Shows the current and future state of processes in a way that highlights opportunities for improvement.

How does Value Stream Mapping help?
Exposes waste in the current processes and provides a roadmap for improvement through the future state.

Visual Factory

What is Visual Factory?
Visual indicators, displays and controls used throughout manufacturing plants to improve communication of information.

How does Visual Factory help?
Makes the state and condition of manufacturing processes easily accessible and very clear – to everyone.

    Why Visual Management?

Visual management is a huge part of Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System. It is the ability to manage everything in your factory (and support areas) visually.Visual management is a way to visually communicate expectations, performance, standards or warnings in a way that requires little or no prior training to interpret.

Visual Management provides real time information of workplace through different visual information aids. Visual Management is involved in all the areas of business, related to Quality, Delivery, Cost, KPIs, work methods, material, machine & equipment and above all, manpower.

How to Create Value for the Customer?

Any business can never survive unless its creates value for its customers. But first, it will have to create value for itself in which having support of its customers is the most critical requirement. 

Value for a business organization  means value in different forms that determine its health & well being. In numerical terms, it can be assets whose value can be expressed in monetary figures & intangible things like patents, copyrights, brands, intellect, etc. 

Value for customers is defined as what the customer is buying or paying for. Value for the customer is the measure of the benefits gained from a product or service relative to the cost paid by the customer. It is imperative that the product or service is made available to the customer with the right quality, right price, at the right place & at the right time. But all this requires answering some very important questions: 

• What are the important factors for the customer while making the buying decision?
• What carrries more importance for the customer - cost or benefits?
• Are you capable of delivering that matches the customer needs?
• Is your competition capable of delivering that matches the customer needs?
• Are you capable of delivering more than your competition?

In light of the above mentioned points, a business organization can create value for its customers throuh:

1. Giving more benefits to its customers than its competitors, at the same or nearby level price. The extra benefits could be a better service, a better buying experience, extra features in product or service, etc.
2.  Creating Ease of Buying & Ease of Payment for the customer, through multiple ways that the customer can choose as per his requirement
3. Creating a good image of the company reflecting ethics, honesty & trust with which the customer would like to be associated with by buying its products or services
4. Valuing the relationship with its partners and dealers & effectively utilizing their knowledge of the market for mutual benefit
5. Most importantly, providing a product or service that fulfills the customer requirements, with ease of use
6. Creating Ease of Contact for the customer through multiple  ways that the customer can choose as per his requirement. The customer is easily able to contact the business organization or its representatives for any support or issue. Its imperative that the support is provided to the customer within the committed time and resolving the issue to the customer satisfaction.  

Value for Business & Customer

Value is a result of hashtagbusiness activity for both the business & hashtagcustomer. But value has different perspectives for both - while for business it means hashtagCustomerSatisfaction for more hashtagsales & hashtagprofitability and for customer it means fulfillment of their needs & wants.... hashtag

Business Transformation : What Changes are Required for it?

In today's rapidly changing #business environment, an #organization must be #lean and #agile with flexible processes to rapidly adapt itself as per the changing conditions. #adaptation #flexibles #sixsigma #process #opex #strategy #kaizen #transformation #businessprocessreengineering #bpr #transformations #topmanagementcommitment