Process Optimisation with Lean – Your Short Cut to a Better Bottom Line
Are you losing money on bad contracts and outdated workflows?
Well, it may be difficult to get the full picture. But perhaps you suspect that you are losing money on way too expensive vendor agreements, service contracts and inefficient workflows? It is just that you do not have the resources at hand for efficiently doing something about it … Now you can get professional help to improve your bottom line through process optimisation with Lean.
A client was reimbursed this amount in EUR by comparing telephone bills to contract
Achieve substantial savings through process optimisation with Lean
A close look at your service agreements, phone subscriptions, or insurance policies will usually pay for itself rather quickly. Be your business large or small.
Your Missing Link has developed a unique method for process optimisation with Lean. In close dialogue with you and your team I will systematically review your vendor contracts to ensure that your future solutions will best match your requirements.
And that price and quality add up.
Optimise routines and workflows
With process optimisation with Lean a great deal of the saved resources relates to improving some of the daily workflows within the organisation.
More often than not it is easier for external resources like myself to spot the opportunities for optimisation. This is because we do not know the reason for the existing routines and therefore may inquire openly about them.
This enables us to jointly identify whether there is a better approach with the objective to work smarter, not harder.
Contact me on
+45 30 63 84 89
or info@yml.dk
Expect an early reply when you contact Your Missing Link. Usually I can take on even comprehensive assignments at short notice.
Leave the difficult dialogue to Your Missing Link
Teaming up with Your Missing Link will give you a number of benefits:
- You can avoid the difficult dialogue with vendors about e.g. extended payment terms.
- You can ask me to explain the reason for new routines to your staff.
- You can leave the dialogue with e.g. your bank, insurance company, SKAT, and other Danish authorities to me.
- You can ask me to negotiate or renegotiate vendor agreements to get better terms and conditions for you.
- You can let me conduct the dialogue with your customers, e.g. when you introduce a new invoicing system.
Generally speaking it is easier for me to establish a fruitful dialogue with various stakeholders simply because I am not an employee.
It opens many doors and curbs potential conflicts that I have no personal interest in the outcome but act as a neutral consultant. My job is to provide good solutions and ensure a good collaboration between all parties involved.
Got this nagging feeling you are being overcharged?
You don’t know what you don’t know, but perhaps you have this nagging suspicion that you may be overpaying in relation to some of your vendor contracts. Or you just want to reduce costs in general.
Read this testimonial about how I helped a medium-sized business get a reimbursement of DKK 400,000 = approx. EUR 54,000 which a major telephone company had overcharged by mistake.
How many agreements are you being overcharged for? Will you ever find out?
Call me for an informal talk on +45 30 63 84 89.
We were reimbursed approx. EUR 54,000
On going through and comparing invoices to contracts Henny identified an overpayment of approx. EUR 54,000 (equivalent to approx. DKK 400,000) for telephone and internet subscriptions over a three-year period. Subscriptions that were supposed to be free of charge according to contract had been created incorrectly in the ERP system of the service provider.
Moreover, the provider had systematically charged us for internet subscriptions which were never physically established at the home addresses of our employees. The service provider admitted to the mistakes and returned the money.
In addition to this task, Henny has helped us negotiate better terms of payment with our suppliers. Besides a significant drop in default interest and reminder fees the extended payment terms have helped improve our reputation among our suppliers which is fully in line with Atlas Copco policy to establish and maintain good relations with all our partners in business.
We also assigned Henny to analyse various processes relating to our vendor management within the organisation, and in close collaboration with our Shared Service Center and key staff Henny introduced optimised routines in terms of invoice coding and approval workflows.
For Accounts Receivables Henny has assisted in creating new forms layouts and introducing updated workflows which are beneficial for our clients as well as for our employees.
Process optimisation with Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma …?
There is a vast number of concepts and methods in the field of process optimisation. Personally, I prefer to call it common sense and a sound business strategy to make continuous improvements.
And yes, you are right. It does require a great effort and determination to succeed with process optimisation. It cannot be accomplished overnight. Quite often major changes need to be discussed and developed whereas minor changes may be carried through over a short period of time – as simple as picking ripe, low-hanging fruit.
Together we will identify some areas that we can easily optimise. This way you and your team will have some quick success experiences which will also be reflected on your bottom line and please your board and management. After this we will look into the more demanding tasks on the plate.
Areas where you may save money by optimising processes
During a process optimisation I can review your existing vendor agreements.
In close dialogue with you and your key staff I will suggest the solution that will be better and cheaper in terms of time and money.
The below examples are just some selections. Perhaps you know of other contracts in need of a service check?
Feel free to call me on +45 30 63 84 89 to discuss what you could benefit from.
Examples of vendor contracts that can often be optimised
Car fleet
Companies with many travelling employees such as field service engineers or sales representatives will benefit from uniform guidelines about car models, equipment, fuel cards and what exactly your staff can purchase with the cards.
How is the situation in your company? Are the rules clearly phrased – and are they complied with?
Phone subscriptions
One area where you can probably save a great deal of money by conducting a careful review is telephone subscriptions.
In medium-sized and large businesses with a great number of employees it can be quite difficult to maintain the full overview as to whether the company has got the right subscriptions. And, not least, whether the telco is actually invoicing according to contract.
By means of process optimisation with Lean I not only helped a client getting a major reimbursement of DKK 400,000. I also made sure the client would save money in the future.
Other things to investigate is whether the company is paying for competitions that the employees participate in. Or for donations made during nationwide collections for that matter.
How is the situation with you? Are you losing money on phone subscriptions?
Internet subscriptions
Company-sponsored internet subscriptions are very common. As with phone subscriptions it is the worth the while to check whether the services provided are actually in keeping with the services invoiced.
The individual figures may seem minor at first glance. But when you multiply them by number of months and number of employees you will soon get substantial amounts.
Do your internet subscriptions need a thorough check?
Advertisements
Many businesses do not really consider whether the advertising money they spend are actually well spent.
More often than not you will see that ads are automatically being renewed because “we usually do so”. No one asks questions as to whether you are using the right media for your purpose and target group, and whether the advertising money pays off as expected. By and large every company can save money through process optimisation with Lean.
Are you 100 % on top of your advertising expenses?
Tenancy agreement
It is quite common that tenancy agreements for commercial tenancies contain a covenant about a minimum annual rent increase.
Many businesses could benefit from investigating the market for alternative tenancies. Or double check what the price per square metre for similar tenancies in the neighbourhood would be. Based on this research they could request a renegotiation with lessor.
When was the last time you took a close look at your tenancy agreement?
Cleaning services
When it comes to cleaning services many businesses share the experience that the quality provided does not always match the price paid.
Moreover, not all customers pay attention to adjusting the scope in case of a reduction in number of offices to clean, just to mention an example. The potential with process optimisation with Lean is apparent.
Are you happy about the amount of fluff in your workspace compared to the price you pay for having it removed?
Insurance policies
If you have not already consolidated all your business insurance policies with one insurance company you should definitely consider this.
You may save money by asking 3-5 insurance providers to make a quotation for your entire insurance portfolio as this may result in substantial discounts. Avoid wasting money through process optimisation with Lean.
And even if your insurance policies are already consolidated with one provider you should make a habit of reviewing your insurance needs every few years.
When did you last have a meeting with your insurance company with the objective to adjust the terms to the current situation of your business?
Coffee and soft drink vending machines
If you have any coffee and soft drink vending machines and the like this is what you should do.
Conduct a head-to-head price comparison with similar solutions at regular intervals to see if it would be beneficial to replace vendor and/or equipment.
How long is it since your current solution was established? When did you last check whether there are better alternatives on the market?
Copiers and printers
Every now and then you hear stories about large businesses and public bodies being taken for a ride with horribly expensive leasing agreements. Such contracts are almost impossible or at least very difficult to terminate.
This is without a doubt an area where you need to do careful research before making a decision about investment versus leasing.
Do your leasing agreements need to be checked?
Subscriptions to newspapers and trade magazines
In large businesses you will often find that some employees get free trade magazine or newspaper subscriptions. Often there is no professional or objective reason for it.
This is usually a relic from the past which is due to the fact that no adjustments have been made to match the circumstances of today.
Are you in control of how many of your employees benefit from free subscriptions? And are the subscriptions relevant in their profession?
Want to talk?
Do your processes need a critical look?
- Are you thinking that your bottom line could benefit from fresh eyes on some of your working procedures to obtain a better workflow?
- Do you know for sure that you are paying for some services that you don’t really need – but you don’t have the time to do something about it?
- Could you get better prices from other suppliers if only you had the time to do some market research?
Bear in mind that for each day you continue to unnecessarily “bleed money” you will have less money for other business activities that could add value and growth.
At the same time you cannot fully focus on your core business. Your bad conscience about not looking properly after your business and career is taking up too much attention.
All set to turn things around? Call me on +45 30 63 84 89, or drop me a mail at info@yml.dk.
Get happy employees – get rid of needless routines
There is nothing like troublesome and outdated working procedures that can drain your employees of their energy!
But changing deep-rooted habits may be quite a Gordian knot to cut.
Often it requires a helping hand from someone who can take a look at the processes without any personal interest in mind. Who can ask all the “stupid” questions and identify possible solutions to removing needless and costly routines.
Obviously in a close collaboration with key staff in your organisation.
Get help with process optimisation with Lean and expect:
- That I will not conclude the assignment until the new processes are a success.
- That I will help you implement the new routines.
- That I will instruct your employees as required following the optimisation.
- That I will explain the new procedures to your suppliers, customers, staff, etc.
In this way we will ensure that all links in the chain will support the new processes.
And that your employees – AND your bottom line – will wear a broad smile.
Any questions? Give me a call on +45 30 63 84 89.
