The first hurdle to get over in maximising efficiency in a growing business is to accept that by its very nature this is going to be a moving and evolving target and therefore the solution has to be flexible enough to adapt to suit the situation within which it is set to perform in order to succeed. The second is to realise that the solution should also ideally not just react to the changing situation, but become a positive part of progressing the business forward in itself. Forward planning at this stage is one of the biggest keys to successful optimisation.

Flexibility in a business situation is often seen as a good thing  and it is in most cases. A business that can change its products, service, costs, marketing, strategy etc is far more likely to be able to take advantage of evolving opportunities within existing markets or open up new market opportunities than a business that is averse to change. The problem occurs when this change cannot be managed with the same efficiency (or better) than existing work flowing through the business because the ‘model’ of how the company works at present is not suitable (efficient) with the ‘new’ work. Many companies get around this by simply setting up specific procedures that apply to this new type of work only, often by-passing established procedures that are already in place within the company. Often this is ‘mixed in’ with some existing practices. This is fraught with danger. While the focus of management attention is on this ‘new’ work – it may well appear to be manageable, but special provisions are usually made to accommodate the work going through, at some points passing outside the standard management and control procedures. Six Months later, when a second batch or similar contract is won – will this all be ‘remembered’? Also, staff who have seen the ‘standard’ procedures circumnavigated by senior management may now begin to regard this as acceptable practice for other ‘standard’ work as and when they see fit or when it suits them, a dangerous precedent indeed.

As we all move forward, change in our lives and business is proving to become one of the biggest constants we can rely on. Not only that, but the pace of change continues to accelerate day by day. From that point of view, when we are looking to upgrade our procedures and systems to help manage our business, adaptability to change should be at the forefront of our minds. Often this brings a conundrum. Many business ‘systems solutions’ actually work by formalising and making rigid our work patterns, made to fit how we are working now – not guesstimating how we are likely to work in the future. No one that I have met has yet shown me a crystal ball that they have proven to work, (I wouldn’t be sat here writing this article if they had!). So with the absence of being able to see into the future, the best we can do is prepare ourselves as well as we can for the inevitable change that we know is coming.

All businesses generally have a ‘core’ of work that flows through their company that will (external market forces permitting) continue in a generally similar format despite future change. A precision machining company is likely to continue in that general sphere of work – even though they may be moving gradually from metal CNC Machining work to laser cutting for example. It is still processing the same type of raw materials to make finished or ‘worked’ components. The ideal solution towards optimising the efficiency of this type of business is to accept that the core of this work is generally what to base the solution on ‘processing metal components’ whether this is to manage CNC processing (existing) or laser processing (Possible future). The management of the business around these processes will largely be similar and should be catered for in any solution assessed to take on the task. » Read more: Optimising Efficiency for a Growing Business