Each company has its own productivity profile that determines much of future or new (business) developments. There are four main productivity roles within an organization. Each with an own characteristic. The overall productivity of a company is measured by the output of this company in relation to the human resources that are employed. It is no secret that tools and systems help to increase the productivity and this is whats happens day after day; companies invest in information systems, machines and other equipment to improve and innovate at the same time and increasing the productivity as a side effect. A way to increase productivity is to produce less, which might sound strange. This is therefore a very though lesson to digest, because producing is what most companies are most capable of. Yet the concept of focus on core business, downsizing or outsourcing is not only invented but also applied in almost any business of any size. Producing less makes a company more flexible. Flexibility is a term that is difficult to describe, but think at the personal computer and the number of parts is furnishes, which are impossible to produce by one manufacturer alone. The chip itself requires a high grade of dedication. At the other end of the spectrum there are companies that merely assemble finished parts. Changing from one end as an autonomous producer to the other end of the dependent assembler is a long way. Not only for the functional part, but the human side of the change is hard to manage. Explaining an engineer that what he designs is also available on the market is a challenge to communicate. Another challenge is to shift from a complete push driven production to a (client) pull driven production. In both cases the decrease in (own) production is compensated with an increase in the logistical process. In this example the productivity shifts but the margin diminishes too. Therefore another option to increase the overall productivity is to economize on supportive functions that are not part of the primary process. This is also like a best-practice and very tempting because the effect is not directly visible. Thus going for lean and mean. This will also mean less support for (both internal and external) clients, and that might give a problem for the last role. The last productivity option is located at the other end of the primary process; the contact with the clients. Normally you should start here, asking the question whats the wish of our client. How does he appreciate our product and what else could we offer? For example more support by providing interesting services; we do not only sell the computer but also we install software or we offer a maintenance contract... Each productivity role has its unique elements and each role is highly dependent on other choices. For a coherent business you should integrate all the elements. But the essential idea is that one or two of the four roles constitute the main character of your business. Knowing your main profile is a perfect starting point for any new strategy. 2006 Hans Bool |
