Speed Up Your Operations Tips: From 'Putting Up Your Feet' to Asking 'What If'

To be more productive, put up your feet

It's no secret that executives and leaders are busy. According to a Harvard Business Review study and article on How CEOs Manage Time, most CEOs maintain a gruelling schedule with many different demands constantly competing for their attention. Unfortunately, too many leaders either don’t engage in the practice of taking strategic thinking breaks, or they don’t do it as effectively as they could.

However, it is crucial to schedule adequate uninterrupted time for themselves, allowing space to reflect and prepare for meetings. Countless other studies and researchers have illustrated the importance of taking breaks to give the brain time to think and generate new ideas as well as to ensure higher levels of productivity, creativity, and engagement with the work.?

Follow these five steps to unlock the power of reflection.

There’s never been a better time to ask, “what if . . .”

What if” there’s a multi-million euro opportunity hiding in your supply chain network? With business starting to stabilise, at least to some degree, now’s the time to take a closer look at your distribution network, costs, and productivity. You may be pleasantly surprised by where (and to what degree) savings opportunities exist.

We worked with a privately held supplier of construction materials with over 1,000 employees and developed an analytical model of their business, incorporating the appropriate costs across 20+ sites. While they didn’t find any major savings opportunities in their freight costs, they did leverage the model to start asking some higher-level questions about their production and distribution strategy.

And indeed, we assisted in uncovering their golden egg — potential annual savings of €11-12 million. Now, it's your turn to explore how.

Strategies for increasing yield in food and beverage manufacturing

Yield management is a critical aspect of the manufacturing process, as it directly impacts profitability, resource utilisation, and waste reduction. Understanding and optimising yields is essential for maximising efficiency and minimising costs in the food and beverage industry.

The drive to increase yield in the industry demands targeted actions. These include fine-tuning process control for smoother operations, enhancing quality assurance for consistent product standards, implementing lean manufacturing to eliminate unnecessary steps, optimising supply chain management for greater efficiency, and proactively reducing energy and resource waste to meet environmental standards.

These key strategies are essential for increasing yield, as they directly influence the efficiency of production processes.