Boost Your Business Profits Even in Tough Times
With the revenues shrinking and costs rising, it’s easy to get upside-down in the profit column. With credit markets just starting to thaw, it may be difficult to get the cash needed to continue operations. And tight-fisted customers aren’t going to let you sell your way back to profitability. How is it possible to boost profits without increasing sales? The easiest way is to downsize your costs.
Ever noticed how some companies seem to thrive in economic downturns and blow past their competitors? Wouldn’t you like to be one of them?
You can! There are hidden gold mines in your day-to-day business operations that you’ve been unable to tap using common sense, gut feel, and trial-and-error. Across the ordering, billing, purchasing, payments, and fulfillment processes, your customers may experience a 6-12-18% error rate-an error rate that is devouring your profits.
In a recession you can’t market or sell your way out, because customers are tightening their purse strings. You can’t innovate your way out, because customers want proven solutions, not new, untried ones.
You can, however, systematically improve your mission-critical operations -eliminating defects, delay, and waste that translate into immediate profits. No waiting! And best of all, your processes are totally within your control – you don’t have to rely on anyone else to achieve your goals.
This means that you can fill your revenue dips with money that had been lost in operations. You can turn your employees’ attention to solving operational problems forever.
While most companies are cutting the usual expenses – travel, training, bonuses, pay, and headcount – a few are using this economy as an opportunity to optimize their operation so they can weather this economic storm and future ones as well. They know what only a rare few seem to know: one out of every three employees is working in the company’s “Fix-It” factory.
The Fix-It Factory
Every company has two factories:
•one that creates and delivers your product or service
•and a hidden “Fix-it” factory that cleans up all of the mistakes and delays that occur in the other factory.
How can you tell if you have a “Fix-It” Factory? Just pay attention to how much time you spend on overtime, fire fighting and crisis management. Do you consistently rely on heroics to save the day? Do you reward fire fighting, but not fire prevention? Do you have hordes of employees inspecting the finished product or service? If so, the “Fix-It” Factory is costing $20-$40 out of every $100 you spend.
