Finance

Do you recognise any of these problems?

The following reflect issues highlighted by our customers prior to engagement.

“Our production costs are inaccurate. As we have no foolproof way to ensure we are capturing MRO transactions at point of use, we have no ability to accurately allocate that expenditure. As a consequence we can't allocate our spares spend to cost centres, never mind down to asset level”

“Our balance sheet is impacted by the value of indirect materials we hold. However, I have 2 issues here. Firstly, is the figure I’m reporting accurate? Secondly in order to get a true figure, a full stock check means closing down the stores and taking up to 5 days to complete. As we’re running at full capacity here, we have neither the time to do this nor the resource. As a consequence we rely on sporadic cycle counts which doesn’t give me a true picture”

“I need accurate inventory valuation at month end. However, due to the lack of control within our central and satellite stores, I’m unable to get this at the touch of a button”

“We are continually challenging Engineering and Maintenance to reduce spares inventory. On the other hand, they tell us they need high stock levels to ensure they have the means to keep our assets running. The problem is that neither department really knows what we have in stock”

“Our indirect spend is out of control. Cost centre managers have difficulty in controlling their budgets due to lack of visibility. We can only make them aware of overspend two weeks after the month end when we’ve finished the management accounts”

“Obsolescence is a major issue. As a plant we focus a great deal of effort in matching product and asset life. However, we fail to do this with our spares and have no idea what potential liability will exist at product end of life”

“We spend 60% of our administrative time on tasks associated with our indirect creditors – chasing POD’s, copy invoices and often internal staff for order numbers to cover ‘emergency orders’. It’s a complete waste of our resource”

“We struggle to quantify cost down performance. I need hard evidence not estimates or guesswork”

“Lack of accountability causes indifference. As staff are not individually accountable for what they’re taking from stores, there’s a carefree attitude”

“We have no control of our consumption. We control our inputs very well - continually monitoring our indirect supply chain costs and ensure we are getting best value. However, once product lands in the plant we lose control of where it is, what it’s used for and if it’s used. Security is a real issue”

“Stock accuracy is always highlighted on our Auditors report. Whilst we are best in class when it comes to our bill of material inventory, our indirect material is consistently wrong. We use a bar-coding system to book out of stores but it’s not consistently used. The net result is that stock level and valuation data is often out by as much as 18%"

Who is most likely to deliver results to their Company using our control-based approach to indirect materials?

Our clients and customers typically share many of the following characteristics.

Committed to profitability. Above all else you are focused on delivering tangible bottom line value.

Committed to making a contribution. You are interested in making an impact and a difference to your organisation.

Persistent - committed to success. You are determined and willing to investigate new ways of working to achieve results.

Focused on being efficient. You firmly believe that removing waste is the most effective way to deliver value

High standards of excellence. You’re striving for excellence and interested in being the very best in your field.

Very knowledgeable about your business. You strive to be a true expert and an invaluable resource to your Company.

Evidence driven. You’re guided by the principle of information and data to prove results.

Look for long term, sustainable solutions – not the quick fix.You realise that an isolated, re-active approach to problem solving management is no solution at all.

Risk averse. You are committed to ensuring that any potential improvements are properly managed and implemented.

Realise you can't know everything - But you are committed to getting assistance and expand your knowledge and expertise.

If you fit the profile above you’re ideally suited work with us to deliver high impact results to your Company.

Now that you know the kind of organisations and professionals we work with, learn more about How We Work and the Results you can expect.

Back to Who We Work With.