Operational Excellence

Operational Excellence (OE) is executing in an efficient and effective manner across the value chain with a focus on delivering value to customers. The Operational Excellence program provides a framework to understand why and how performance needs to improve. The road to achieving operational excellence is by identifying value chain business processes, identifying strengths/weaknesses of them (based on key measurements and benchmarks) and redesigning these processes to align with corporate / strategic goals and ensure that organizations, resources and assets are utilized in the best possible manner. Business leaders need to consider strategic cost management vs traditional cost reduction approaches.

Successful companies are able to combine robust strategy with Operational Excellence to drive accelerated value creation, profitable growth with high customer satisfaction.

As organizations embark on the journey to build operational excellence into their processes, it is recommended to start in a few focused areas that have the highest ROI.

Developing a culture of employee engagement and empowerment is regarded as the primary challenge for most organizations in their OE / LEAN journey. Here is a great video by Raymond Floyd of Suncor Energy.

Click here to watch on YouTube

While there are many terms – Lean, Six-Sigma, DMAIC, Value Stream, Kaizen, 5-S, JIT, Waste, Takt Time, Process Improvement, Continuous Improvement, Value Stream, Problem Solving – these are simply tools that, when properly deployed, will improve the efficiency of a manufacturing operation and develop a foundation of Culture Change and Operational Improvement. The ultimate result is reduced manufacturing costs, a sustainable competitive advantage, improved customer satisfaction, and smoother process flows.

Operational Excellence coupled with Innovation strategies  allow successful companies to drive sustainable competitive advantage that results in growth and profitability.

Rapid advancements in 3D printing/Additive Manufacturing represents a great example where innovation is allowing companies to achieve new levels of customization, flexibility, speed, solutions and scale that could not be achieved through traditional business strategies.

LEAN philosophy and its methods, when used properly and regularly results in measurable and sustainable improvements for the organization, critical set of tools in the organizations journey to build Operational Excellence.

Operational Excellence & LEAN is a culture ….. embrace it to grow !

Please read other related articles,

Business Strategies-Article 1 of 8 – Growth Through Innovation

Business Strategies-Article 2 of 8 – What is Innovation

Business Strategies-Article 3 of 8 – Types of Innovations

Business Strategies-Article 4 of 8 – Technology Roadmap 101

Stay tuned for the next article which will be “Strategies For Rapid Business Growth (Organic)”

The author, KetanDeshpande, lives in Minnesota and writes about a variety of topics in his blog such as global economy, market and industry trends, successful strategies for businesses, and others. Leveraging his global strategic leadership experience from the manufacturing industry to offer insights in to how businesses can meet the sustainable growth and profitability goals.

Ketan Deshpande is also passionate about sustainability and renewable energy; he curates and shares latest updates in his blog posts. Recently the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency(SMMPA) of Litchfield, Minnesota, endorsed Ketan Deshpande for an energy conservation project.

This blog also features memorable events, travel experiences and his favorite places to visit in the great state of Minnesota.

Blog by Ketan Sharad Deshpande, Anoka county, Minnesota, MN