FWR News
Higher customer expectations, cost-cutting pressures, slimmer margins and reduced lead times are challenges most businesses continue to face. LEAN Business development isn't just for the manufacturing shop floor anymore. A LEAN office eliminates waste and saves time and money. LEAN is not a new concept in the manufacturing industry. For more than 25 years, LEAN has been successfully implemented on the shop floor to eliminate waste and increase revenue. It is only recently that companies are using LEAN Office as a key productivity factor to streamline and eliminate waste from their office and administrative processes and achieve triple bottom-line savings.
FWR Group endeavoured to develop policies and procedures for a LEAN office and have been reaping the benefits of reduced expenses, increased customer satisfaction and ease of communication, reduced waste, and even the creation of a niche service offering for potential clients helping us to win new business (see ‘Making of a Sustainable Molonglo' article below). Here's what we have done to help LEAN up our business.
Consider that ‘60 to 80 percent of all cost related with meeting a customer demand is an administrative or non-production-related function. Therefore, to be "LEAN," the concepts must be understood, implemented and sustained throughout the entire company' (Karen Juroff, 2003).
Office LEAN has had an administrative processes impact at all levels of our Company:
Enterprise Level: We have streamlined and accelerated those processes that touch external customers and suppliers such as customer service, accounts payable/receivable processing, marketing/sales, R&D, product development and project management;
Organizational Level: We have streamlined key support processes (e.g. Information Technology, Human Resources), identified internal customer requirements and value, and improved communication;
Departmental Level: Focused on our objectives, reduce activities that add time but little value, and measured progress on project tasks; and,
Individual Level: Reduced paperwork, manual entries and errors using Standard Work Procedures, improved organization, and clarified individual roles, responsibilities and objectives.
We are using online communication and project management tools as a cornerstone of our LEAN Office. One tool we would like to highlight is ACE Project ( www.aceproject.com ) which we have been using for over 16 months. ACE is a software as a service (SAAS) project management tool that has allowed us to project manage across a wide geographical distance, whilst still providing tight project management procedures. ACE provides, for example:
- Project, Resource, and Task Management features;
- Project Statistics and Reporting;
- Document Sharing;
- Time Management and Reporting;
- Client review and progress reporting;
- Gantt Charts and Project Calendar; and,
- Security and Access Privileges.
ACE online project management has allowed our Company to grow without having the burden of increasing office space or flying around the country for project meetings. In combination with out online meeting and communication software, FWR Group Virtual Office and document storage, and Customer Relationship Manager, we have been able to expand our operations with less than half the expense of a non-virtual platform.
The operation of a LEAN Office has also allowed us to trim our operating costs enough to provide greater project specific value to our clients and potential clients. The above-mentioned project management procedure has helped us to win some bigger business (see ‘Making of a Sustainable Molonglo' article below) and grow our Company at a rate that allows for expansion without the burden of astronomically increasing operational outlay.
See www.aceproject.com for more information on the project management SAAS services available for your Company.
