5 Simple Steps to Successful Business Optimization

Business Optimization July 27, 2020

Jin Hyun

Writer

Without realizing, many businesses may be overspending on different aspects of their operations such as labor or inventory. This is why it's important to regularly work towards optimizing business processes.

Essentially, this is about decreasing the cost of doing business and increasing the efficiency of operations. Youll examine specific functions using data from past performances to reveal where changes could be made to support revenue growth.

The general goals of business optimization are simple - maximize process efficiency and cost-effectiveness, to create greater customer success in the chosen market.

How Will Businesses Benefit?

Businesses can become more profitable as a result of optimization as two key aspects will begin to shift- money and time. When companies can save money on unnecessary inventory and staff expenses, they'll naturally see an increase in profits.

Similarly, saving time by creating more efficient workflows, as well as implementing process automation where necessary, will also enhance revenue as ultimately in business, money is time.

Additional rewards of optimizing business operations could include-

Reducing financial risks by increasing visibility into the workflow process and limiting costs

Utilizing resources to get the most value and return on investment

Assuring the quality of services/products by putting the effort in to enhance the outcomes of your work

Put the emphasis on customer satisfaction by matching company outputs to demand levels

5 Steps to Optimization

No matter the chosen industry or size of the business, there are 5 general steps businesses can take when identifying areas in need of process improvements.

1. Reduce labor costs

When businesses manage their staff members in a more effective way, they can reduce costs dramatically by only scheduling the number of employees they absolutely need. Simultaneously, staff retention can also be improved, as a more consistent schedule will boost employee satisfaction.

Examine the business's peak and off-peak seasons and schedule the optimal amount of employees for that specific time period. When too many employees are scheduled to work during periods of slower sales, productivity will decrease as labor costs increase.

To ensure scheduling is always optimized, businesses can have on-call staff members to step in if an employee unexpectedly calls in sick and are unable to perform their jobs.

2. Optimize inventory ordering

This is all about knowing the demand levels for each product and ensuring the business is able to meet the needs of their customers while spending the minimum amount of capital on inventory.

It's essential to utilize tools such as business forecasting software when developing an inventory replenishment strategy that can take into consideration key factors such as seasonality of consumer and economic trends.

For example, a retail business will have to dramatically decrease their inventory levels of coats and sweaters during the warmer months and increase its stock of shorts and t-shirts to meet the changing demands. Forecasting software can take these weather changes into consideration to provide reliable demand predictions for reordering quantities.

3. Identify KPIs

Key Performances Indicators (KPIs) are performance metrics that measure specific goals for businesses across many different sectors. When designed effectively, they can help management understand which areas are in need of process changes, and give clear, actionable data sets to measure staff performance.

KPIs give businesses an organized and objective means of ensuring that everyone on a team is working towards the same goal. Some common indicators that are used are revenue data, employment statistics, customer service indicators, marketing tools, and operational and individual efficiency metrics.

Calculating KPIs will depend on the business' unique goals and their specific data-sets.

4. Define short and long term business goals

In order to understand the effectiveness of a business's process optimization efforts, they need to create testable goals for the short and long term. This allows management to understand the impact of each change, as well as their effect on profits.

Short term goals are ultimately markers along the way leading to the long term goals. It's important to remain flexible during this step and understand that optimization strategies may need to be regularly updated to reflect the changing market conditions and trends.

5. Implement process automation

When businesses can automate processes, they'll save time and money on what would usually require hours worth of manual labor. Software is one of the main tools companies can tap into for automation.

The tip here is to work out whether you can automate internal business operations, as well as external functions that customers and clients interact with. Research the current automation trends for businesses in your industry and determine the most applicable technologies to invest in.

The Bottom Line

In summary, businesses will need to-

Establish a baseline for data predictions by observing past trends

Invest time in understanding the local market and customer behavior

Analyze KPIs with different data points to see how the business is progressing

Leverage automation practices to increase accuracy and efficiency, eliminating human error

Understand how external factors will impact the business

Ultimately, all of the above points are elements of demand forecasting. This is the practice of predicting the demand of consumers for specific services and products over time.

Generally speaking, forecasting is conducted using historical sales data, as well as insights into external trends. This process can require complex calculations and analysis to produce accurate results, which is why many business owners turn to software.

The bottom line is, business forecasting using software developed by experts can help increase profits while simplifying the task of data analysis and prediction.