Driving your Profits through Operational Excellence

“Operations” are often wrongly viewed as the unglamorous part of a business – not strategic, not lucrative, no real intellect required, and, let’s be honest, a bit….grubby.  This view is not just totally wrong but ignores the fact that companies that successfully build lean processes will be more successful, more valuable and much, much more profitable.
 
“Operational excellence” is not well understood but generally combines three aspects where the business operations:
 

• Are designed, connected and flow
• Have a planned and outstanding customer experience
• Underpin the strategic priorities, usually either quality, cost or speed

 
The most successful companies have mastered the operational processes making it easier for the customer to do business with them.  It’s no accident that Amazon’s “1 click” button is helping the cash flow in – customers are over 20 times more likely to repurchase where it is low effort to do so.  Equally when businesses get it wrong, it can jeopardise performance – consider the brand impact of United Airline’s recent disastrous removal of a passenger from an overbooked airline. 

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