Sep
14
Written by:
adayal
9/14/2011 6:16 PM
1. More dynamic the external world for a business, the more is the need to be Process oriented
Functional objectives , functional structure , functional JD and functional hierarchy were all created in a
slowly changing world /almost static .
The uncertainty due to external forces was low and customer had little choices .
Products were 2 to 5 and job changes would be once a week
People could stay in one of silos / chimneys in a company for more than a decade , often 2- 4 decades and for
most people work pattern each day was exactly /almost same .
The world has now changed for most businesses :
- choices / alternatives for customers ,
- competitors 30 to 50 ,
- orders small ,
- SKUs range from 100 to 2000.
- Number of customers have increased by a factor of 10 to 1000
Order inflow pattern is changing year-on-year and sometimes quarter-on-quarter
If we are not enough horizontal in terms of Business Model (Vison, Strategy, Objectives, Structure, MIS) and not
managing business horizontally end backwards to benefit from external changes /dynamics, we are bound to be
left behind and will perish.
2. Customer and Shareholder not ready to pay for non - valued added activities though reasons are slightly different
Non valued added cost is anethema now . This includes :
- Idle people
- Idle machine
- Idle assets
- Idle inventory
- Idle money
- slow moving inventory
- slow movement of cash
- supervision
- chase
- follow up
- recycle
- reject and so on
Vertical tools are exhausted . Horizontal tools ( Process- centric tools need to be deployed ) are to be deployed
to identify and remove NVAs and associated resources
3. More Value /different Value - Mix to win Customers
Product and product differentiation, modification, upgradation are well known ways and continue to be
focussed. But for most Businesses, processes remained untapped as a new way to attract, service and win
customers
There are almost 7-15 elements to influence customer , out of which
1 to 4 are around customer and rest around processes
Businesses will therefore have to look at full range of value -elements and make choices .
Process driven value elements like TAT, Service Level, Delivery at home, 24x7, etc. are untapped ways which if
harnessed will help to outsmart competition