The pursuit of performance gains following COVID 19

Frederic Dufour / Apr 20 , 2020

In the current climate of crisis, generated by the Coronavirus epidemic that shook the entirety of the globe, overcoming this obstacle is key to the survival of your business. As complicated as it may appear, it is possible. Production processes shifted strongly following the 2008-2009 crisis, and we cannot expect any different this time around.

For you to come back stronger, we have depicted two distinct phases in order to optimize your business following the tragedy that is the Coronavirus epidemic.

The phase discussed in this article is the structural phase, characterized by Enterprise Lean Planning.

The Problem

In many ways, the post-COVID-19 world will be different from the one we knew only a few months ago.

Leading financial experts have been telling us since the stock market crash and the near-universal lockdown in March, that we should expect a worse recession than experienced in 2008-2009.

It is hard to see, despite the proactive support plans that we are promised, how demand could return to its pre-COVID-19 level in the coming months or even years.

The recession scenario therefore appears to be more than plausible. Despite the anxiety the word evokes because of its subconscious association with unemployment and precariousness, crisis periods are conducive to questioning and change.

The companies that emerged with their heads held high from the 2008-2009 crisis are aware of this. They took advantage of the crisis context to implement changes that had previously been postponed or deemed unnecessary.

Today, these companies can testify that the 2008 crisis revealed performance gains that were slumbering within non-optimized manufacturing processes.

For many of these companies, these changes had the name: “lean manufacturing”.

Lean manufacturing was THE right answer. It made it possible to optimize manufacturing processes through little investment. This is because lean is above all a matter of management techniques and a change of mentality.

This is how the companies that opted for Lean after 2008 fared and came out of the crisis much stronger than before.

Therefore, if Lean is the solution, the question remains “what can still be “leaned” in companies?”, especially amongst those that have already opted for a lean production approach, whether before or after 2008!

The Solution – Enterprise Lean Planning (ELP)

Enterprise Lean Planning is a management system based on planning tools and techniques that increase the overall performance of the company.

Lean Manufacturing uncovers performance gains that lie at the heart of non-optimized manufacturing processes, whereas Enterprise Lean Planning uncovers performance gains that lie at the heart of non-optimized planning processes.

To achieve this goal, ELP will focus on optimizing decision making at the different levels of the company: strategic, tactical and operational. Additionally, it will focus on how these decisions are communicated between the different levels, as well as on how to collect and consolidate data during the running and progress of the various projects and productions.

Like Lean Manufacturing, Enterprise Lean Planning requires little investment and is primarily based on management techniques as well as a change of mentality.

The three pillars of ELP

I. Multi-level planning: this consists of the dynamic integration, through PDCA-type cycles, of the different levels of planning in the company, from strategic planning to task execution.

II. Decision intelligence: this consists of the implementation of decision-making processes supported by artificial intelligence, simulation tools and advanced analytics.

III. Advanced ERP connectivity: this consists of creating intelligent bidirectional gateways with the IT management solutions already in use.

Crisis management is key to successfully overcoming any difficulties the crisis may have caused. Despite the many destructive effects crises prompt, it is important to keep in mind that they can be a source of valuable opportunities.

With the help of ELP, your company will be able to optimize its performance by reducing waste. This is done through effective communication across the different levels of the organization and strengthened by rigorous decision making.