Sustainable High Performance And Profitability - The Journey That Never Ends

T H E O L I V E R W I G H T - W H I T E P A P E R S E R I E S
Sustainable High
Performance and Profitability-
"The Journey That Never Ends"
by Wilson Stefano Jr.IntroductionIn the rapidly-moving global environment, business organizations in every sector arecontinually being challenged. They are being confronted by an increase in global com-petition, the pressure to maintain growing and profitable businesses, and to meetmore stringent and changing customer demands.
These conditions and more are driving organizations to seek solutions to manage thisconstant change in a dynamic environment and to achieve Sustainable HighPerformance and Profitability, which is characterized by operating the business effec-tively while efficiently improving its capabilities and enabling it to continuously maintaina distinct competitive advantage and compile the best performance in the industry. One solution to achieve Sustainable High Performance and Profitability in this environ-Wilson Stefano Jr. ment is for industry leaders to look at their organizations in a holistic manner as anintegrated and structured entity. The purpose of this white paper is to introduce andWilson Stefano Jr. (STEFANO), a princi- describe the steps necessary to start on the journey to Sustainable High Performancepal with Oliver Wight, has over 27 and Profitability and how to do it in a holistic manner.years of "hands-on" experience inmanufacturing. He has coached man- Facing the challengesagement teams to achieve "Class ABusiness Excellence". Stefano spe- The ability to manage continuous change quickly and effectively in a "Stabilizedcializes in Integrated Business Dynamic Condition" is a key driver for business success. For the purpose of this paper,Management and Integrated Supply Stabilized Dynamic Condition is defined as the capability to understand the variousChain Management - "Best Practices". business scenarios and marketplace requirements while anticipating and initiating theHe supports organizations in Brazil necessary changes to meet these new conditions through a structured and integratedand Latin America in the self-assess- management process.ment, implementation, and continu-ous improvement of their integrated Many organizations say they are in a continuous improvement journey, yet they do notbusiness management processes that achieve acceptable performance improvements due to a variety of poor execution orincludes strategic planning, S&OP, other factors, such as:master planning, lean manufacturing,demand management, shop floor o Lack of business control due to disconnected management practices, which leads tocontrol, and supplier relationship informality and fire-fighting activities that ultimately impact short-, medium-, andmanagement. long-term decisions.o Failure to align strategic business goals and objectives throughout the entireorganization and monitoring adherence to them.o Ignoring or failing to investigate and correct customer complaints such as quality,service, and delivery.o Lax enforcement of initiatives to reduce cost, working capital and inventories.o Lack of recruiting top talent, and motivating and retaining valued personnel.
Oliver WightWhite Paper SeriesInformative guides on industry best practiceT H E O L I V E R W I G H T - W H I T E P A P E R S E R I E S
Many organizations cannot articulate these or any otherongoing challenges they may have, hence, they cannotdefine a clear journey with the appropriate sequence forimprovement to assure sustainability. The result, then, isa series of isolated initiatives, often overlapping andcompeting for the same resources that reach suboptimalresults (see Figure 1). Achieving a Stabilized DynamicCondition is an ongoing challenge and a prerequisite fororganizations to maintain Sustainable High Performanceand Profitability.
Figure 1
Beginning the journeyMany organizations attempt to solve their problems in anon-holistic manner. By so doing, it means that eachfunction is focusing on its own individual performance(and often to the detriment of the entire business).Instead, each function should align its actions and initia-tives to the strategic map developed by the organization.The journey to Sustainable High Performance andProfitability, and completed in the right sequence, is thekey to success. The specific steps include: Figure 2
Initial education The first step is to learn and understa... [download for more]