Business dynamics are changing. Hyper competition and globalization are forcing the pace of change across all industries. Investment cycles are being compressed, limiting the competitive advantage traditionally associated with new technologies and services. Meanwhile, company executives are under increasing pressure from investors to improve shareholder returns.

If this is your situation:

• You wish to improve shareholder returns by focusing on improving performance at cost of sale, operating expense and cash flow level.
• You need to achieve performance improvement, implement change and realize the associated value.
• You wish to challenge existing processes, activities and thinking and gain insights into practices being adopted by best-in-class companies.

How OV Consulting can help you:

We provide third-party objectivity, which brings clarity and solutions to companies across a broad spectrum of functional responsibilities. We work with senior management to stabilize operations where required and begin a rapid assessment of the change mandate. Our analysis enables us to reposition and strengthen organizations by recommending sustainable improvements.

Services we provide include

Process Improvement. OV Consulting can assist clients by:

• Reducing operational complexity and costs
• Assessing and reviewing existing processes
• Recommending simplified processes based on best practice, which remove duplication and inefficiency and ensure control and governance requirements are preserved

Supply Chain Management

• With intense pressure to reduce costs while striving for best-in-class processes, executives continue to look to their supply chain to deliver more cost competitive and efficient ways to get their product to market.
• Yet this is an area that we at OV Consulting see largely as untapped value for most companies. Our experience has shown that many companies continue to isolate elements of cost and service without considering the full extent of their supply chain. This results in savings and efficiencies in one area or business unit, but has a knock-on cost or a lag elsewhere in the chain. Instead of operating as a collection of separate business units, the well managed supply chain links suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and customers into one integrated channel that operates - and communicates - seamlessly. This allows for complete transparency on cost and process improvements.
• At OV Consulting, we approach the supply chain as a set of integrated operating activities.

We provide the following services:

• Identify the key value links in the supply chain.
• Evaluate and re-engineer processes in both the internal and external relationship points on the supply chain.
• Understand the impact of technology on supply chain demands.
• Examine all aspects of the supply chain from forecasting, production planning, manufacturing, stock control, through to sales order processing and logistics.
• Apply data automation to key processes.

Sustainable Cost Reduction

With company executives under increasing pressure to improve shareholder returns, cost reduction initiatives are constantly on the corporate agenda. Indeed in a recent survey, 56% of respondents indicated their single greatest challenge was to control costs. Short-term cost reductions are no longer acceptable. Radical change is often required yet too much cost cutting can be fatal, leaving companies under-resourced for the future.

Sustainable cost reduction is about re-defining the cost base of a company. The operating structure (service and cost) required to support the strategic direction of the company must first be defined and should incorporate best practice adopted by market leaders. In many cases, the operating structure will no longer be consistent with the strategic direction of the company and must be re-aligned, resulting in significant structural change. This may include radically revising supply chains, centralisation of activities for multi-entity, multi-location companies and / or the outsourcing.

At OV Consulting, we challenge the existing cost base of companies vis-à-vis their strategic goals. We also challenge the thinking behind existing processes drawing on the experiences of our team and those of best-in-class market leaders. We help to create cost transparency for clients by making the critical differentiation between 'good' and 'bad' costs.

'Good costs' are those that are necessary for the current and future growth of the company (e.g. research & development training etc).

'Bad costs' neither support the growth of the company nor are they part of the company's infrastructure (e.g. inefficient procurement etc).

In short, we can help to improve your business by balancing your need to contain costs and your desire to grow market share. We identify cost reduction opportunities, which we validate with our clients and then support them in implementing the relevant programs to realise the associated savings.

Working Capital Management

How many companies have been liquidated with healthy order books? How many senior executives have been forced to focus exclusively on debt repayments rather than strategic growth? Is the key focus after a management buy-out, sales growth or cash generation? If cash and liquidity are paramount to your company, focusing on cash flow may be your primary strategic priority.

Whereas cash is usually generated from profitable trading, our experience proves it can also be squeezed from working capital. Reducing receivables and inventory and increasing payables can significantly improve cash flow. Best-in-class companies have strategically analysed their approach to working capital management, releasing cash and improving customer service and satisfaction.

At OV consulting, we:

• Encourage companies to focus on working capital management, administrative procedures and quality of distribution.
• Identify weaknesses in internal systems, which give rise to collection issues and devise recommendations to help overcome them.
• Challenge inventory service level metrics, production processes, forecasting procedures, IT systems and transparency of information and drive change in line with global best practices.
• Assist companies develop an understanding of their payables philosophy.