Customer Dynamics

Bottom line results are generally accepted as the measure of a world class performer. Certainly they are a valid indicator. In addition to profits, four other outputs are crucial: product perfor­mance, quality, customer service, and cost. Any company that is better than their competitors in all four are best-in-industry. Rarely is the determination that clean cut. Instead, it comes from a composite of being adequate in some, better than competition in others, and perhaps an outstanding characteristic that causes customers to want to do business with you.

Results tend to be visible. For publicly held companies, revealing figures are published. Even when this is not so, world class performance is hard to hide. Customers know who's doing the best job and, in turn, competitors quickly get the message as well.

•the last event. Important as reflection of world class

Results describe only the end result— they are, results are not the best performance.

Processes are more important than results. They are the drivers, the causes that generate the final results. Results are the

byproducts of how well your processes are performing. If the processes are outstanding, the rewards are great; poor processes on the other hand, create poor rewards.

Years ago, executives would talk about controlling inventories and backlogs. Today, most would recognize the fallacy of these words. Both inventories and backlogs are the consequences of demand versus supply. Whenever demand exceeds supply, inven­tories will drop and/or backlogs increase. A supply rate greater than demand guarantees that inventories will grow and/or back­logs decrease. Controlling the rates of supply and demand are the only ways to manage inventories and backlogs.

In a similar manner, the length of lead times, the levels of quality, and the time for set ups come from your internal processes. Altering the processes alters the end results. Dictating that lead times should drop or quality should rise or set ups should decrease without changing the processes is simply wishful thinking.

Processes are largely invisible, clearly seen by only discerning observers. At the very time that certain companies were being hailed as world class such as IBM, Digital Equipment, and General Motors, based on impressive results, key processes were unwinding. The lag in performance occurs in the other direction as well. Establishing operational excellence eventually generates world class results.

My presentation will focus on five processes that contribute to world class performance.

Lean Six Sigma Consulting   World Class Manufacturing   
Balanced Scorecards  Strategic Tactical Planning  
Supply Chain Inventory Management  Principles of Total Quality Management
  Manufacturing Process Improvement