By: John Skelton The S&OP business process fits effectively within a wide range of businesses, including manufacturing, assembly, distribution, wholesale, retail, and service industries. Its many benefits include. New Product Introductions: Time required to launch new products can be significantly reduced, and disruptions to the market for existing products can be minimized. Further, S&OP facilitates the development of exit … [Read more...]
By: John Skelton In a report released in August, 2011, research firm The Aberdeen Group of Boston, MA found that a formal process of Sales and Operations Planning was a key enabler in companies who were able to achieve best-in-class results in customer service levels, average cash conversion cycles, forecast accuracy at product family levels, and in gross margin rates realized. Author Nari Viswanathan, Vice President / Principal Analyst, … [Read more...]
By: Todd Skinner I admit I’m a sports fanatic, and at this time of year it’s all about pro football. The teams are making a run for the Superbowl and every inch counts. Recently, I was watching a Monday night football nail-bitter and while I know that most professional athletes earn millions of dollars a year, I was struck by something deeper. My business coach radar went off. “Not only do these athletes earn millions of dollars, but … [Read more...]
By: Todd Skinner Over the past few months I have been reaching out to my network of clients, business associates and contacts across the world as well as here at home to learn what others are doing to succeed in 2011. With slight modifications and removal of some proprietary content, I have been asked by many to share these simple yet powerful suggestions with you! For your business to grow in 2011, YOU must grow in 2011. If you think … [Read more...]
With the recent heated debate about jobs moving overseas to countries with lower labor costs such as China, India and Eastern Europe, who would think that, within the next decade, there is high potential for a significant shortage of workers in the North America possibly creating a crisis? If you take into consideration the 70 million Baby Boomers expected to retire over the next 15 years and only 40 million workers expected to enter the … [Read more...]
By: Sue Sutcliffe You’ve heard it before: Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Nowhere is this truer than with social media. In an April 2011 survey, people were asked if social media has impacted their organization. Of the people who said ‘no,’ a third blamed their inability to measure and analyze the data. Conversely, respondents who recognized social media’s bottom-line value were twice as likely to have a formal social media … [Read more...]
By: Sue Sutcliffe Social media: what a great marketing tool. It’s inexpensive, it’s customizable – but is it working? In last month’s column, you learned how to plan and launch a social media campaign, but now you need to figure out how well it performs. Who are you attracting? What’s engaging them? What’s bringing in business? What’s floating like a lead balloon? Examining the success of your campaign allows you to … [Read more...]
By: Bill Templeman Whenever I ask clients what they find most challenging about managing their own businesses or being in charge of a department in the public sector, I hear several very predictable answers, no matter the size or focus of the organization. To my continued amazement, managing workplace conflict frequently ranks among the top three issues. Consultants and facilitators who can really help people work through these conflicts … [Read more...]
By: Todd Skinner Summer is a great time to take a “Strategic Time-Out”. A time to slow-down, reflect, and re-adjust your strategies. Here are 4 powerful, yet simple low cost strategies to help create new business. These are not new, just underutilized! Discuss these tactics with your team and adopt or adapt the following ideas to work for you. 1 Formalize and optimize your referral systems. Identify your best-performing … [Read more...]
By: John Skelton The economic loss created by fear in the workplace is immeasurable. Employees who labour within a command-and-control management hierarchy are frequently motivated by threat and coercion. Not only does fear destroy any sense of team spirit and pride, but it also shuts down important communication channels, inhibiting the flow of creative, constructive, and corrective ideas upstream. Just how might the front-line employee … [Read more...]