Category Archives: Business Practices

Playing Blind:  The Impact of Uncertainty on the Field and in Business

Close your eyes.  Imagine you are a football player, stepping onto the field during a crucial game. The stakes are high, and the pressure is immense. Your heart races with adrenaline as you take your position.  You hear the thunderous cheers of the crowd. The energy is electrifying, and you are determined to give it your all.

But then, something strange happens. As the referee blows the whistle to start the play, you realize that you have no idea what the score is or how long you have been playing. The scoreboard is blank where the scores should be, and there’s no clock in sight to show how much time is left. You try to shake off the confusion and focus on the play ahead, but that nagging uncertainty lingers in the back of your mind.

Without knowing the score, you can’t gauge whether your team is winning or losing. You don’t know if you need to push harder and take risks to catch up, or if you should play it safe to maintain a lead. Every move becomes a gamble, and anxiety creeps in, making it difficult to think clearly and execute your plays effectively.

As the game progresses, you notice that your teammates are also affected by the lack of information. Some seem to be playing with a newfound sense of urgency, assuming that they must be behind. They take bold, reckless actions, hoping for a miracle comeback. Other players seem overly cautious, unwilling to take any chances, fearing they might jeopardize a potential lead.

The uncertainty takes a toll on team coordination too. Communication becomes fragmented, as each player tries to interpret the game’s situation based on their own observations. Without a common understanding of the score and remaining time, it’s challenging to work together seamlessly as a unit.  The absence of critical information begins to impact your individual performance as well. You find it hard to focus on the task at hand, and doubt clouds your judgment. Your confidence wavers, and you become hesitant in your decision-making on the field. Your plays lack the usual precision and timing, and frustration mounts as mistakes start to pile up. 

OK…you can open your eyes. Not fun, right?   Yet, this is the situation so many business leaders put their workers in… no posted metrics, no start-up meetings, no daily review.

The story of the football game without a known score or remaining time serves as a powerful analogy for business owners. It underscores the importance of having access to real-time data, analytics, and insights to make well-informed decisions.

At The ProAction Group, we understand that success in business hinges on making informed decisions backed by data-driven insights. Our mission is to help organizations thrive by identifying operational improvements, mitigating risks, optimizing procurement, and maximizing revenue and profits. In a rapidly evolving market, the ability to adapt and stay ahead is paramount, and that requires having a finger on the pulse of your company’s performance.

Much like the football player needed to know the score and time remaining to devise an effective game plan, businesses must rely on key performance metrics to make strategic decisions, and managers use key performance indicators to set appropriate expectations on the floor.  Our expertise lies in shedding light on the vital aspects of your business that might otherwise remain obscured. We provide the tools and insights needed to navigate confidently through the challenges, helping you stay agile and responsive.  

Furthermore, we work with your team to establish clear benchmarks of success, guiding you on what to measure and how to interpret those metrics effectively.

Education is also an essential part of our approach. We believe that arming your team with the knowledge of these key metrics empowers them to act decisively and collaboratively towards shared goals. By keeping everyone on the same page and speaking the same language of success, we help nurture a culture of achievement and continuous improvement.

The analogy of playing blind on a football field underscores the importance of having the right information to succeed. With our assistance, you can navigate the complexities of your business’s operational challenges with a clear understanding of your performance metrics, enabling you to seize opportunities, mitigate risks, and propel your organization towards lasting success. Together, let’s bring clarity to your path, so you can achieve remarkable results and secure a winning position in the market.  How can we help?

Are you Gambling with Your Portco Investments? The Crucial Importance of Addressing Business Risk

Risk is inherent in all business transactions, especially when acquiring a new platform. The PE world has long-standing tools and resources to address legal, environmental, financial, and customer concentration risks. Operational risks (business interruption, unplanned Capex, margin compression, physical safety, fragility, “the rabbit hole” …) are often left to the personal experience of the deal team and the operating partner. Add to that, the buyer has a short and diminishing timeframe to evaluate all these risks; a lot can go sideways, fast (or slow… some risks may not manifest in symptoms until year 2 or 3)!

Cue Kenny Rogers and the popular 1978 country song, “The Gambler” for inspiration on the importance of making wise decisions. The tune emphasizes the idea that in life (and money making), one must be able to assess situations, calculate risks and make informed choices to succeed. The tune’s broader message underlines the importance of timing, intuition, and strategic thinking in navigating uncertainties. That is all great and good, but a lot can boil down to luck without targeted assessments and resources. We can get beyond the Gambler as we become aware of undisclosed risks, gain acceptance that they are indeed real, and then take purposeful action to mitigate, manage and eliminate!

In the context of operational diligence, and navigating the stages of risk awareness, acceptance, and action, you’ll need an expert assessment to reveal what is really going on within the operations of a company, when perhaps the financials don’t indicate trouble. It’s easy to believe that a company with healthy EBITDA, a humming production line, and happy employees will promise big financial returns – until it doesn’t.

The potential for undisclosed risk justifies a comprehensive assessment of an organization. Financial, customer loyalty, environmental, legal, regulatory, IT, and HR diligences are ubiquitous today. These areas may not uncover margin compression, business interruption, unplanned Capex requirements and other operational issues. 

The goal here of course is to identify the undisclosed risks that will impact the future performance and success of the target company. These risks are often hidden in plain sight and are often accepted with an unquestioning IIWII (“It-Is-What-It-Is”) attitude… such as that additional operation that takes place just before the order is shipped because no one has taken the time to identify the root cause and fix the error at its source. Here’s another risk, this one is late-stage, and this is a big one – when a company relies on a single supplier for its primary materials and hasn’t established an alternate supplier… they know their business is exposed to interruption risk, but they contentedly move forward, hoping things will continue to be OK. One recent seller explained how this risk was minor because they owned the drawings… when we asked to see one, they commented that the supplier keeps them.  Wow. Hope is not a valid response, and we need to call this what it really is – denial.    

In over 20 years of completing operational diligences, we have never killed a deal. We identify risks to create awareness, not to cause panic or worry about falling skies. We quantify the risk and estimate the effort and capital that are required to address the situation. While no investment is risk-free, accepting risk without a realistic and professional evaluation is a gamble with high stakes. Here’s a perfect example – the seller has built the business from the ground up and they know everything about the process. They have been involved from the beginning and everything runs smoothly because of their involvement in the daily processes. But what happens when the business is sold without evaluating this particular risk? The new owners will find it difficult or impossible to replicate the previous results because much of that success was due to the daily energy and expertise the previous owner brought to the business. The good news is, if we have 6 months or a year to institutionalize their knowledge, and we actively do so, the solution is inexpensive, non-invasive, and highly effective. In fact, in every case, the process to address the risk produces meaningful performance improvements. In EVERY case. If you wait to address risk – maybe next quarter, or next year, it will be more expensive, more invasive, and only partially effective by comparison. Which highlights the importance of acceptance. How often do people say, “I’ve been telling them about this problem for years, but no one listens to me!” When we accept that the risk as real, we can generate some data and bring clarity to the situation, and we can have years of meaningful improvement rather than years of loss.

The purpose of risk awareness, and recognizing risk acceptance, isn’t to walk away from the deal, but rather to create an action plan to manage, mitigate, or eliminate identified risks… to be well-prepared to handle the risks and challenges associated with the new company. This will involve collaboration with company leadership and management teams, legal advisors, and operational experts to ensure a comprehensive and well-executed risk management strategy.  This may also require interim leadership resources to ensure that risk mitigation is executed properly.

With risk, it doesn’t have to be a gamble. It all boils down to having the wisdom to fully recognize the circumstances and plan an appropriate response. At The ProAction Group, we know where to look for risk. Whether they’re obvious, hidden in plain sight, or those late-stage risks that won’t fully present until Year 2 or 3 of your investment cycle. We find that having knowledge of what can go wrong and having an action plan to address it will ensure the best possible outcomes. 

Leveling Up – Your Deals & Gaming Have a Lot in Common.  What Level are you Operating At?

Dungeons and Dragons was the first game to bring the concept of character leveling to the mainstream market.  When you level up, you gain experience points and advance to higher levels within a game.  Leveling up is the primary way to measure progress and success within the game, and it’s a helpful concept in M&A as well.

Leveling up isn’t just a way to measure progress, it’s also a way for your company to compete where there’s more risk and higher margins – and that translates to better returns when you’re successful.  As experts in Operational Diligence, we have some ideas about leveling up through pre-close and post-close activities. 

Level 1 – Basic Level of Play

This is where all activity starts – with pre-close diligence activities.  The deal team is looking for risks and operational improvements, and may call on industry leaders for additional insight.  Once the deal is won, the Management team is relied upon to develop the value creation plan to realize the investment thesis, and the deal team takes on a new role as the corporate development team.

At this level of engagement, the risk of post-close negative surprises is very high. Had these negative surprises been called-out earlier by Operational Diligence experts, they would have been part of the value creation plan and likely would have lowered the cost of the deal.

The Basic Level of Play leverages the experience of the deal team and any industry leaders they bring in.  It is low cost, but will not consistently uncover undisclosed risks and latent value.

Level 5 – Significant Skill Set of Play

A level 5 is generally achieved by a player who has progressed beyond the beginner stages of the game.  Level 5 may represent a significant milestone, allowing the player to unlock new abilities, access new areas or questlines, or face tougher challenges.  In our work, Level 5 PEGs often have an Operating Partner or an external resource like The ProAction Group for pre-close activities.  The ops leader works alongside the deal team and looks for hidden risks and operational gains to get ahead of plan and to fuel the value creation plan.  We/they may identify dozens of areas for operational improvement, yet provide the one insight that implementing one single improvement post-close could provide significant scores for the team and begin the momentum for extreme value creation.

This elevated level of play brings focused and experienced attention to the process, identifying risks that the seller may not have disclosed (or even known about) as well as providing fodder for the value creation planning process.

Level 10 – Effort, Strategy, and High Scores

Players who reach the higher levels in the game get amazing skills and can fight dragons, take castles, and save the distressed!  For the gamer, this is endlessly interesting and exciting.  They get to explore the potential of their character and take over the world!

In our real world of M&A, achieving this level allows us to go into a deal with our eyes open, our models accurate, and with a value creation plan that is clever, practical and designed to drive a real win.  We are in a position to truly explore and tap the full potential of the platform. 

This level often means using an Operating Partner with subject matter expertise for both pre-close and post-close activities – the “been there done that” for several businesses in the target’s vertical.  High achievers in pre-close Operational Diligence will:

  • Calculate Capacity – as currently run, and with improvements in place.
  • Recast Inventory required to run the business (this is the canary in the coalmine…)
  • Segment SKU/service, Customer, and Inventory profitability.
  • Test for numerous risks that would show up in year 2 or 3 if not addressed early.
  • Recast CAPEX requirements.
  • Benchmark sourcing rates and costs.
  • Develop a detailed financial model integrating the addressed risks and operational improvements.

Operating as a Level 10 pre-close also entitles you to bonus play – and post-close magic:

  • Integrate financial model and budgets into expectations for the leadership team.
  • Develop a full value stream and/or process map to expose any additional opportunities and risks.  Understand how the money is made, how to satisfy demand, and how to operate the company among the sponsor, the leadership team, the management team, and the operator expectations.  (This step might bring you to level 15 on its own!)
  • Conduct a formal value creation working session to address identified risks and opportunities.

Don’t we all want to play at Level 10 and access the magical post-close play?  At The ProAction Group we bring Level 10 from day one.

We can implement changes that will get you ahead of plan in the short term, development containment plans to manage risk, stage, and stagger operational improvements based on ROI, confidence, time required, and bandwidth.  We’ll show you how to leverage your opportunities to address risks and improve performance, while developing new leaders and a problem-solving culture.

 Contact us today to Level Up – right to the bonus round

What Your Business and Speed Skaters Have in Common and Why You Need to Up Your Ante With a Good Coach

Timothy Van MieghemThe ProAction Group

The Olympic games are nothing short of inspiring.  The backstories, the challenges and the opportunities for glory all come together on the world’s stage for these athletes. 

I find speed skating especially incredible and relatable to my line of work.  Speed skating is a racing sport with the primary aim to complete each circuit in the fastest time possible. To win a race, the athletes must adopt a particular set of techniques including balance and positioning – and then add speed. 

The technique, process, and analysis to reach this level of magic is analogous to preparing an organization to win at the profit game (which is my Olympic sport). 

Let me explain.

The road to operational excellence requires balance and positioning of a different kind.  All organizations race for results to earn gold for investors by increasing the internal rate of return, meet loan covenants or personal gain.  As in speed skating, organizations must find the right balance and positioning of whatever the opportunity for improvement is.  If you can identify it, it can be quantified.  Once it is quantified, we can plan for it.   Once an organization has identified and quantified the opportunity for improvement – then speed comes into the equation.  How fast and for how long?

At The ProAction Group we call this the ProActive Profit Process — and we’re excellent coaches.  We can help identify and quantify what needs to improve, and then tell you how fast you’ll need to go to achieve success sooner.  Like any great coach, we’ll work the formula with a proven process that lands you on the winner’s podium in your industry’s competitive landscape (and it won’t take four years to prove it).  We’ll map out the implementation at the agreed speed to assure you that you’re covering the distance between where your organization is now and where it needs to go.  Beyond implementation, we’ll be there to institutionalize changes for sustained results.

Balance and positioning at a high rate of speed is challenging for any organization, however with a good coach, with a proven track-record to guide the way, makes the difference.  Let us help.

Opportunities in Crisis: Implementing and Measuring Supplier Changes

In our previous posts, we focused on how to objectively identify underperforming suppliers and constructively negotiate needed changes in supplier relationships. However, reaching an agreement on changes and actually seeing them adhered to are two different things. While we are generally trusting of supplier partners, in cases like these it is essential to “trust but verify” that the new elements are being implemented by both companies and accomplishing the desired results. Here again, data is power.
Continue reading Opportunities in Crisis: Implementing and Measuring Supplier Changes

Opportunities in Crisis: Negotiating with Underperforming Suppliers

In the first of our posts on crisis-related supply chain opportunities, we examined the benefits of addressing underperforming suppliers and how organizations can approach the process. In essence, that first step is about identifying perceived supplier issues and then resolving to act. Once that decision is made, the word “perceived” should be eliminated and the groundwork for negotiating can begin.

Continue reading Opportunities in Crisis: Negotiating with Underperforming Suppliers

Opportunities in Crisis: Identifying Underperforming Suppliers

The life-changing effects of our new viral enemy compel us to contemplate what it all means, both personally and in our roles as business leaders. Personally, it has reminded many of how vulnerable we truly are, bringing about lifestyle adjustments to better manage health and wellness risks moving forward. For business leaders, many have been consumed by short-term negative impacts. Leaders should, however, also view this as an ideal time to look for long-term opportunities that will improve the health and wellness of their business.

Continue reading Opportunities in Crisis: Identifying Underperforming Suppliers

I’m Givin’ Her All She’s Got Captain!

As Captain Kirk demands more power, Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, in his classic Scottish brogue, delivers the iconic line, “I’m givin’ her all she’s got captain!”. Facing the impending doom of a Klingon Death Ray is not a good time to discover a capacity constraint, but fortunately for Captain Kirk and the rest of the Starship crew, crisis is miraculously averted and the crew lives on for another episode.

For mid-market manufacturing firms, when customer fulfillment problems and past due order issues arise, a CEO may act like Kirk and “ask for more power”. New equipment, a bigger facility, new technology systems, a new production line, etc. are all natural requests when these problems occur and capacity appears constrained. While these are viable solutions, increasing capacity is costly, takes a long time to implement and may not be necessary. Before committing to more capital expenditures, look for other ways to fix the problem.

In Part 2 of this month’s Hidden Value Series on Past Due Orders, we will dive deeper into the root causes of persistent fulfillment and past due order problems … what to look for and how to devise creative solutions.

Part 2: Getting to root causes

Start with culture: If your corporate culture is built on a company-wide commitment to continuous improvement, then you are poised to successfully deal with any past due order problem that might occur. Corporate cultures focused on continuous improvement start by asking “What happened? How do we fix it? And how do we ensure it never happens again?”. Asking these questions – without placing blame – should be the first step in getting to the root cause.

The process: In addition to a great corporate culture, here are some techniques to employ when searching for root causes:

  • Cross-departmental Working Group. Don’t look at systems and processes in isolation. Bring your leadership team together and get them focused on creative ways to address the issue. A dedicated, cross functional working group is a powerful force in driving organizational change.
  • Data Analysis. Use data, not opinion. Bring your IT team into the working group to bring real data into the discussion. Using data to drive decision making is critical.
  • Workflow Analysis. Mapping the order/product journey through the facility can often show bottlenecks, inefficiencies and sources of delay.
  • Third Party Review. No matter how great your team, it’s easy to get focused on the trees and not the forest. Neutral, third party experts can shine a light on overlooked areas of opportunity.

Where to look: Before committing to more capital expenditures, look for other ways to fix the problem. Here are some places to look for efficiency gains BEFORE approving that capex spend:

  • On-time Delivery and Schedule Attainment: Are we measuring these accurately? Are we monitoring them closely? Are we course correcting regularly?
  • Variations: Does performance, quality or output vary across different shifts, supervisors, lines, facilities, etc.? If so, this is a big opportunity to improve throughput.
  • Performance degradation: Has operational throughput declined over time? If so, what has changed (e.g. management, staff, product mix, etc.)?
  • Labor Issues: Has employee turnover increased recently? Do we have the right staff on the floor with the right training and the right skillset at the right time?
  • True Production Capacity: Are we accurately capturing the true maximum capacity of current operations? What factors are constraining our ability to reach maximum capacity?
  • Data Accuracy and Integrity: Are the BOMs, routings and inventory levels accurate? If the perpetual inventory, BOM’s and routings are inaccurate, then the MRP system will fail … period.
  • Inventory Planning: Stockouts, inventory delays, quality issues and supplier challenges can lead to Past Due Orders. Focus on inventory planning processes and supplier management techniques to minimize inventory issues.
  • Documented Processes and Procedures: Reliance on tribal knowledge leads to the company being vulnerable to tight labor markets.  Improve consistency and minimize the impact of employee turnover by clearly documenting processes and procedures and reducing tribal knowledge.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Start with corporate culture. A customer-centric culture built on a commitment to continuous improvement is critical.
  2. Find answers … don’t assign blame. Instead of getting mired in the details of who caused what, concentrate on teamwork and permanently fixing the problem.
  3. Creativity before capital. Root cause analysis often highlights internal processes ripe for change that require no capex and yield huge returns.
  4. Experience matters. Leverage your internal experts and senior leaders, but consider outside experts to take a neutral, third party view of the situation. The combination is powerful.

Additional Info:

Part 1 – The Biggest Threat to Uber?

The Biggest Threat to Uber?

Pop open your Uber app and the nearest driver is 10 minutes away. While not ideal, you don’t have much choice. You need a ride in a hurry and a cab is nowhere to be found. You request your driver and pray they’ll be early. When 10 minutes turn to 15, then 30 (!!), you are seething and pacing, vowing never to use Uber again. In today’s on-demand, 24/7, “want it now” culture, few things will kill a customer relationship faster than asking a customer to wait.

The same is true (if not more so) in more traditional manufacturing and distribution businesses. Order delays, long lead times, and missed shipments lead to lost sales and unhappy customers. If you see past due orders increasing, you will likely have unhappy customers and a threat to your underlying business. It is time to jump into action.

In this month’s Hidden Value Series, we will dive deep on the topic of backlogs, specifically:

  • Part 1 – How to identify problems in your backlog
  • Part 2 – Getting to root causes
  • Part 3 – Case studies and results

Part 1: How to identify problems in your backlog

To be clear, having a backlog of pending and future orders is definitely not a bad thing for a manufacturing business – for many industries it is common to have future orders that stretch out for six months or more. But when your backlog is growing because you cannot produce product fast enough (defined as when your customer wants it!), your backlog becomes a liability, negatively impacting customer satisfaction and your financial performance.

First things first, if you’re not reporting on Total Backlog and Past Due Orders by product family and facility in your quarterly board packet, change that asap. Be sure to trend these metrics over multiple years and set benchmarks for what is an “acceptable” percentage. Any appreciable increase in Total Backlog and/or Past Due Orders above the benchmark is a signal to dive deeper.

Note that many backlog increases are often just temporary and readily explainable. For example, a large increase in sales will often cause the total backlog to increase temporarily. A quality problem, natural disaster, or key supplier delay can also lead to spikes in past due orders. Temporary spikes should clear up rapidly. However, meaningful, persistently elevated backlog or past due order levels indicate a major operational health issue that should be addressed quickly.

Other signs of a problem: What else should you monitor to identify problems in your backlog? Including the following key metrics in your board packet will help you proactively identify operational issues BEFORE they impact the health of the business. Key metrics to track include:

  • Lead times: Are lead times increasing?
  • On-time Delivery %: Are your on-time delivery percentages declining?
  • Inventory Turns: Are inventory turns declining?
  • Expedited Shipping Costs / Frequency: Are your margins shrinking due to higher costs of expedited shipments?
  • Order Discounts: Are you issuing more discounts to help assuage unhappy customers?
  • Employee Turnover: Is employee turnover increasing (sign of high stress to expedite orders)?
  • New Customer Sales %: What percentage of orders / sales are from new customers vs. repeat business? An increasing percentage of sales to new customers might indicate a customer retention issue
  • Customer Satisfaction Scores: Are your customer satisfaction scores declining or persistently below par?
  • Customer Complaint Reasons: Are you receiving a higher percentage of customer complaints about order delays and on-time deliveries?

Be smart: When the metrics and indicators start flashing, management may fall back on some tried and true root causes. Here are some common refrains when backlogs increase and performance lags:

  • Supplier performance is to blame
  • Customers are hard to forecast
  • It’s a product mix issue
  • We need another production line / a bigger plant / new equipment
  • A tight labor market is creating a labor issue

Here’s where you earn your keep as a board member / investor. Management may be right, but instead of just accepting management’s explanation, spend some time probing deeper into the metrics. Don’t underestimate the power behind candid conversation. Here are some specific questions you can use to challenge the conclusions reached by management and get to root causes:

  • How are our metrics defined? For example, growing lead times with consistently high on-time delivery reveals a mismatch in what is being measured.
  • Who owns addressing the growing quantity of past due orders
  • Why have specific orders not yet shipped? This may seem too granular for a board discussion, but this question is a good way to dig into underlying causes, such as why materials are late from a supplier or what quality issues caused rework.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Backlog problems have material impact on the performance of the business. Fixing them leads to EBITDA gains, improved customer satisfaction / retention, lower working capital levels, and improved competitiveness
  2. Proactively monitoring key indicators can identify issues early … before they impact the health of the business
  3. Ask smart, probing questions in the board room to help get to root causes

Value Creation Tip – Supplier Development

Oftentimes, companies are used to improvement ideas coming with a capex investment (and related justification form/process!) – such as new or improved automation for better efficiency or even a new facility for increased capacity. However, there is often a way to increase EBITDA, inventory turns, and order fill rates simultaneously with little or no capital expenditure. In most companies we assess, under-leveraged supply chains are common, and opportunities for success are often achievable – like the ability to obtain better pricing, to have shorter lead times, to secure a supplier’s active support in rolling out new products, or to leverage a supplier’s resources to address quality issues.

Many entrepreneurially run companies are working hard simply to ship products, and they have not had the bandwidth (or expertise) to evaluate better ways to leverage their sourcing spend. Finding time to conduct a competitive process to test the market is often out of reach for these businesses. More than half the companies we have assessed have not competitively bid their purchased goods and services in the prior 5 years!

Often times, all of these improvements can be achieved with existing suppliers. But in some cases, switching suppliers may be required to obtain things like better pricing, higher performing parts or services, shorter lead times, more flexibility and ultimately a more robust supply chain. But the point is that there can be plenty of latent value still waiting to be tapped, like oil patiently waiting below ground for the current or future owner to tap into it!

Supplier Development

The idea is to work with a core group of suppliers, one by one, to find better ways to leverage the joint supply chain to become more valuable to customers, more enriching to employees, and more profitable to shareholders.  This process often includes one or more of the following:

  • Ways to build the trust necessary to share demand information, forecasts, schedules and existing inventory balances
  • Ways to leverage one member of a supply chain who can compete a task or requirement at a lower (sometimes much lower) cost than the current actor
  • Developing line-ready packaging, pricing schemes that fit in scheduling, and/or freight patterns
  • Including the supplier in planning new product roll-outs, onboarding new customers, or in preparation to handle promotions or special events

One common opportunity is to replace a traditional blanket order / PO process with a shared forecast and schedule. This sharing of information benefits the company by reducing the inventory levels, ensuring that we never shut down a line due to a lack of parts, and reducing administrative duties. In this scenario, the significant benefits to the manufacturer are exceeded by the benefits to the supplier because the supplier can use that information to level load their plant, plan production, and improve their own purchasing, which in turn benefits the entire process. In other words, it is a win-win situation for both the company and their supplier.

However, this approach requires trust. It also requires a fairly complex project plan to develop this capability with your key suppliers. The capex might be minimal, but it will require the strategic intent and efforts of the whole management team.

If you believe that one of your companies is under-leveraging its supply chain or would like more detailed information on relevant initiatives, please contact us here.

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