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Operational efficiency

Removing the bottlenecks in operations that slow down your top line.

Removing the bottlenecks in operations that slow down your top line.

Removing the bottlenecks in operations that slow down your top line.
It could seem odd to bring operational efficiency in a tool box which is entirely focused on your growth.
At CO.INTRA, we are fascinated by the value generated by Lean. Lean is a growth strategy, starting from the real client needs, organizing production around them and cutting the rest.
Customers don’t need you to hold a large inventory. However, they do expect timely delivery, whatever happens.
Lean is about transforming the company, and this transformation is driven by the company’s leader. Not everyone wants this, though.

What a consistent Execution of a lean strategy can achieve

inventory turnover
x 0
reduction in setup times
0 %
increase in productivity
0 %
reduction in lead times
0 %

What CO.INTRA does is to look at the business with the eyes of Lean, and help cut bottlenecks in order to speed up the service. This also leads to large efficiency gains that help fund your growth.

Simply faster

Essential steps

Process mapping

Process mapping

This is the basis for informed decisions about what needs to be changed and why. This exercise provides clarity and a shared perspective for all team members. By mapping each individual step, we uncover bottlenecks, overlaps, and inefficiencies that cost time and resources and ultimately slow down your growth.

Optimization of processes

Optimization of processes

Now that the processes are visible, we can redesign the workflows: friction losses and delays are eliminated. We streamline steps, reduce handovers, and thus help to reduce rework. Optimized processes mean faster execution, lower costs, and fewer errors. This collaborative work strengthens your team and turns them into an asset that keeps increasing its value.

AI-supported task automation

AI-supported task automation

With automation, we aim to achieve three benefits. First, saving time so the team can focus on the “real work”: what really matters to customers. Second, it is a lever for accelerating service delivery. Third, it reduces errors, which are a massive source of distraction.

Dashboards

Dashboards

Companies typically produce too much data and use too little. We focus on defining the important information and ensuring that it is delivered reliably and in a timely manner to the right people. The rest is a waste of time and IT resources and must be eliminated.

Performance management

Performance management

Strategy comes to life through daily implementation. This ties in with the previous point: data is only useful if it reaches the teams responsible for it and enables them to compare results with the plan without leaving room for speculation. This aspect of the work has a lasting impact on speed and culture.

Waste and costs

Waste and costs

Cost reduction plans are often a lever for companies that have failed in their growth plans or made a large investment that was not actually necessary. At CO.INTRA, we try to act before these mistakes are made: identifying and eliminating waste in operational processes increases customer value, speeds up processes and reduces costs.

Digital tools

Digital tools

Digital transformation is one of the 11 pillars we present here. Further details on the 9 tools that belong to it can be found here
Digital transformation

Gemba

Gemba

Gemba is a Japanese word meaning ‘the real place’ and refers to the physical location where value is created and the actual work takes place. It is the core concept of going to the site to observe processes, understand problems first-hand, and identify and immediately implement opportunities for improvement with the team.

Lean

Lean

Lean is not a tool, but rather a highly demanding growth strategy that also brings efficiency gains. Some of the steps outlined here could support the future introduction of Lean in your company.

This programme is suitable for most cases

Before you begin

We recommend this focus on operational efficiency in almost all cases, as it forces the team to think hard about what is required to respond to customer needs and why we do everything else. This work, in turn, frees up staff and other resources to focus on growth. We believe in this work because it removes excuses for not getting started: its results fund future progress. Improvements in operational efficiency can therefore be initiated even when your company is struggling or losing market share. All the more so.

On the other hand, introducing lean as a growth strategy is comparable to preparing for Le Mans if you are a racing driver: there is nothing better, but it is not suitable for everyone. Here, too, it probably makes more sense for a company owned by private equity or an extremely motivated leader, as this is a very demanding journey.

Operational efficiency = growth

Operational efficiency and growth are the two sides of the same coin.

Companies tend to become more complex as they grow, especially when they increasingly focus on themselves and lose sight of their customers.

This often leads to bottlenecks in operational processes. Complexity creeps in, teams lose focus, ambition-fuelled IT programmes are initiated, decisions are postponed until growth comes to a standstill then reverses.

CO.INTRA is obsessed with the customer and always starts from the customer’s perspective. Simple questions help to clear the fog. Slowly but surely, this work shapes the culture of the teams.

The result: an organisation that works leaner, faster and smarter. Cost and inventory reduction are a natural result of this work, not its main purpose: the main purpose is to grow forever by meeting customer needs in the most cost-efficient manner.

Let's make growth happen.

Let's make growth happen.