Re-engineering, Process Mapping, Continuous Process Improvement and Outsourcing

All businesses can be improved. To drive a company to peak performance, sometimes it’s a question of making many small improvements and sometimes a quantum leap in productivity is needed. Performance goals, time available, and resources determine the best mix of techniques. There are many reasons for underperformance. Systems and procedures are rarely overhauled, yet products, services, technology, circumstances, and competitors change all the time. There may be a disconnect between management’s goals and what is actually happening in the office or on the factory floor because goals are interpreted and reinterpreted many times as they filter down. Problems also arise when those at “corporate” specify methods that are ineffective and workers must improvise solutions. Turnover of managers and employees means an understanding of why things are done as they are done, is lost, and without understanding, procedures are misapplied. As a result, needless work is built into processes, and opportunities to improve are lost. Previous chapters discussed increasing revenue and cutting costs. In this chapter we discuss techniques for improving operational efficiency. These techniques include (i) process mapping, (ii) re-engineering, (iii) continuous process improvement and (iv) outsourcing. No one method is best in all circumstances and several methods are may be needed in the same company.