Process Knowledge Plus MS Excel Are A Lethal Combination In 'Balancing Capacity And Demand' To 'Operate With Excellence'

Everything we do in a business, from business support functions such as HR to frontline core business functions such as mine planning, is a process. Every process has five (5) key elements: 1. a process requires UNDERSTANDING; 2. when you understand a process you will realised that a process has VARIABLES; 3. these process variables must be PROPERLY CONTROLLED; 4. every process has a CAPACITY; and 5. that process capacity requires CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.

In continuously improving a process's capacity, understanding the inherent process capacity is important. The requirement to establish the inherent process capacity is a practice of 'Operating with Excellence' stated under 'Balancing Capacity and Demand'. 'Balancing Capacity and Demand' can be easily modelled in MS Excel.

If you are following me on LinkedIn, you would have seen my recent posts on developing and leveraging skills in MS Excel and modelling using MS Excel. Once we understand a particular process and have a good knowledge of MS Excel, modelling of any process variable for continuously improving the process capacity becomes so easy.

How does 'Balancing Capacity and Demand' connect to the 'big picture'?

In the grander scheme of things, 'Balancing Capacity and Demand' is a key practice to 'Operate with Excellence'. These practices will come out of an 'Operating Model'. Every modern organisations would be expected to have an 'Operating Model' which will form a framework around which they will build their sustainable growth and transformational aspirations. This framework can be used by their leaders in their strategy discourse. The key to strategy by discourse is narrative but you must go to that narrative with a framework around which you will build and stake your talk around. An 'Operating Model' provides this framework.

The operating model will show the frameworks, principles, operating practices and deliverables. The frameworks will have three key areas: strategy, management and organizational effectiveness. Each with its underlying principles, operating practices and deliverables. You can also refer my article below for these additional drilldown insights.

'Balancing Capacity and Demand' will be an operating practice in such an 'Operating Model' to achieve aspirations for 'Operational Excellence'.

Knowledge of MS Excel can be leverage greatly to model many process variables in the operational excellence practice of 'Balancing Capacity And Demand'. See an example of 'balancing capacity and demand' being modelled in MS Excel in the article below.

Hopefully you too can now connect the dots to see the 'big picture'.