Reenchanting the Enterprise – part 2

PlanningForce / Apr 05 , 2015

Following on from the first part of this article, we continue to cover in this second part the actions that will make it possible to “reenchant the enterprise”.

Thanks to reliable performance indicators

While setting realistic objectives is inseparable from strategic planning, strategic planning would be no more than a list of intentions if it were not framed by performance indicators that will allow its execution to be monitored.

Designing good performance indicators in relation to the objectives is therefore essential. Being able to refresh these indicators easily and reliably is even more important. To do this, the data that feeds these indicators must be able to be extracted from the information systems without requiring any special work such as closing the accounts.

This is why these data will be taken from the management system used on a daily basis and will be subject to simple processing (additions, comparisons, sorting, etc.), and will ultimately be presented in intelligible dashboards.

Thanks to the judicious orchestration of flows within the organization

Once validated by the stakeholders, the strategic planning will be broken down into successive tactical plans.
The tactical planning is established on the basis of a model of the company’s value chain.
This planning is designed to minimize bottlenecks throughout the value chain. Tactical planning will focus on finding solutions to deal with order peaks and to take advantage of opportunities that overcapacity can offer when demand is lower.

The goal of tactical planning is to orchestrate the flows within the organization in order to make the workflow more fluid, which implies using resources to the best of their abilities (i.e. the so-called ‘critical’ resources), but also to reduce as much as possible the changes in priority during the execution of the planning.

Tactical planning is a global planning process that involves the main managers of the company (sales, purchasing, programs and operations) who meet under the guidance of a facilitator (often called PMO) or within a dedicated management body (called a ‘PMO cell’).

Tactical planning will set production objectives to be achieved over a specific period of time (e.g. a fortnight or a month.) The result of a common elaboration, tactical planning is a strong commitment to stakeholders. It also reflects what is called ‘one truth for all’.

From a technical point of view, and as far as possible, the results to be achieved (tasks to be carried out, parts to be produced, …) will have been estimated here on the basis of realistic standard execution times. Realistic, because they include the probable occurrence of events that slow down or penalize the progress of these operations (absence of critical resources, machine failure, delay in procurement, delay in obtaining certain administrative authorizations, …)

Thanks to the reduction of disruptive elements

One of the management’s objectives here is to list these disruptive elements, in order to know their impact on productivity and to work towards a progressive reduction.

Finally, tactical planning gives rise to operational planning. This level boasts the highest level of detail concerning operations to be carried out on a daily basis. Team leaders and, of course, operators are involved in the preparation of this operational planning which, while remaining within the “tactical envelope”, leaves certain room for manoeuvre in order to manage the hazards of daily operations.

Continued from article in Part 3