How a New Company Increased Service and Revenue with Better Operations

This impressive new company was a high-growth beauty and e-commerce start-up with fifty-five employees bringing in an annual revenue of $80 million. It had so much potential in a highly-competitive and volatile industry, meaning that any decisions made could make or break the company.

Unfortunately, the situation looked bleak at first. A lack of leadership with no management or structure left employees stepping on one another’s toes, confused at the scope of their work, and unmonitored in their roles. Poor communication and a lack of cadence left an impact on the flow of work and ultimately negatively affected the product launch process– the most important part of a beauty company’s evolution. Lack of successes, low morale, and difficulty communicating left the company with high employee turnover, which is another costly and inefficient symptom of poor structure.

Those in charge were smart, though. They were smart in getting their company started, and they were smart in reaching out for help to keep it going when it hit a rough patch. They called the experts at Poka-Yoke for professional guidance on cleaning up their current processes and advice for moving forward.

In the initial assessment, Poka-Yoke’s team of team Operations Leads, Project Managers, and Process Analysts crafted an individualized plan to build a stronger foundation that would highlight the great things this company had to offer. The team identified four regions of improvement.

1. Our team implemented a new ERP System to add order visibility across the organization and increase operational efficiency across departments. This reduced confusion between departments, locations, and employees.
2. We created an improved communication system that synchronized the Fulfillment team with Customer Service. The result? Improving coordination and response times and improved customer experience.
3. We reinvented the Product Launch Process Flow by creating a structured process for product launches, streamlining their introductions. This reduced confusion, eliminated product launch delays, and created harmony for an already stressful (but exciting) event.
4. We reverse engineered hundreds of pages of documentation and product information into a step-by-step ticket troubleshooting flow, improving the wait time to answer customer queries and creating a better process for onboarding new customer service agents.

Following implementation, the Poka-Yoke team continued to monitor this company’s success. Order-to-ship speed increased by 78%, the books showed 15% year-over-year growth, and roles and responsibilities remained clear with the new employee training system. The company was allowed to focus on what it loves doing and does best: making fantastic products.?

By “cleaning up the processes and structure behind the curtain” they were able to give customers a better experience and a better shopping experience, which results in more sales and loyalty.

By truly understanding your goals and current processes, we are able to objectively evaluate your systems and create solutions that enhance your efficiency, reduce your errors, and increase your profits.

This is the power of Poka Yoke.?If you'd like more information or want to discuss your business situation, we'd love to connect. Please reach out to our CEO.

Erica - [email protected]