Case Studies

Evans Glass

When I met Larry and Paul, the owners of Evans Glass, their marketing and sales teams were firing on all cylinders and they were experiencing rapid growth. Their challenge was that the volume of work being generated had outgrown the operations side of the business. They knew that in order to get where they wanted to go, they would need to upgrade their operational foundation. I helped them get there.

The Process:

After performing my initial review and making several recommendations, Larry and Paul retained me to help and guide their General Manager and the executive team through implementation of the recommendations I had made.

For over eight months, I was on-site two to three times a week for a few hours at a time working with management and the operations and accounting group. We covered a lot of ground; organizational structure, resource utilization, customer service, work flow, information management, accounting processes, and technology.

The Results:

We accomplished a tremendous amount together - from improved customer service to better decision support information and a shortened project and cash flow cycle. We established a new operational foundation with solid management and staff in place to support their anticipated growth and continue to improve the business.

"...It would have taken us years to achieve what Fred helped us accomplish in a few months..." Larry Breuer, President, Evans Glass, Inc.

Some of the key areas that I focused on are summarized below:

Customer Service: Evans Glass prides themselves on their customer service. With their significant growth, the incoming requests for information and follow up were outpacing the ad-hoc nature of their existing methods of handling customer service issues. I helped them establish a separate customer service function with a customer service representative assigned to take the phone calls, record issues and track follow-up. The results:

• Improved customer satisfaction from more timely, consistent follow-up
• Increased productivity due to reduced interruptions of other staff who previously handled many calls
• Ability to analyze customer calls and reduce the causes of some of those calls

Work Flow I helped them identify several improvements to managing the flow of work between initial contract and final installation. Processes were modified and documented, job assignments were re-arranged and improvements in their use of technology were made. The results:

• More productive operations staff who now feel more in control of their work flow
• Reduced time to process contracts allowing them to handle a much higher ratio of contracts-per-staff than before
• A significant reduction in the duration of projects - with an associated improvement in the cash flow cycle for each job

Information Management and Reporting When I started, a limited number of reports were generated manually each time they were requested. This was time consuming and could cause inconsistencies and errors. While the business was definitely ready to move ahead technologically, it was important to make immediate improvements in the information flow and management reporting that was already in place. We first implemented changes to ensure that the underlying data was accurate and consistent. Then we changed their reporting methods, using tools they already had (in this case Microsoft Access) to link directly to their operational data using ODBC (Open Data Base Connectivity). We replaced the existing reports and quickly added new reports to deliver more management information. The results:

• Reports that took minutes or hours to prepare now took seconds to select and print
• Quicker and better decisions based on increased visibility, new views of the business and near instant access to accurate, up-to-the-minute information
• Additional time saved during the project lifecycle from new views of information that led to tighter management and controls
• Breathing room to make longer term improvements to the technology foundation

Technology It was clearly time for Evans Glass to improve their technological foundation. Our objective was to achieve a level of technology that would support their near and medium-term growth, and to do it as quickly as possible with a minimal impact on their day-to-day operations. I worked with them and their technology partner to facilitate a move to a relational database environment. Again, we were able to use resources that they already had, but were not using (in this case Microsoft Small Business Server with SQL Server) The results:

• Significantly improved reliability, accuracy and availability of their critical data
• Increased productivity from faster more accurate data entry and maintenance
• The ability to provide remote office access and reporting while maintaining the security of their critical data
• Happier staff
• Plenty of time to evaluate, select and implement longer term technology solutions

Accounting and Finance In this area, I was able to make recommendations for improved accounting processes, financial management, reporting and controls. By their nature, the improvements noted above helped the accounting staff perform more efficiently and effectively. We also implemented some new procedures and controls, re-assigned some duties, and found ways to get more out of their accounting applications. The results:

• Improved efficiency (accuracy, timeliness) in all accounting processes including Payroll to Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable
• Improved visibility, understanding and cooperation between operations and accounting also improving efficiency and reducing time lost with errors
• More satisfied employees, vendors and customers due to improved responsiveness and consistent follow-up on their requests

Management and Communication Part of my role was to coach and mentor the General Manager and members of the executive management team. In all growing businesses, communication is a key challenge, and the faster the growth the more challenging it can be. We worked on improving the flow of information through management meetings, more collaborative decision-making processes, expanded use of email, memos and reporting, as well standardized document location and management. My focus was not only to help establish these basic tools of communication, but to encourage and facilitate a culture of open communication and accountability between the leaders of the different departments. The results:

• Improvements in management and communication supported many of the results noted above
• Increased confidence and awareness by the owners and executive team in how to build the organization and support their continued growth and success

Rapid growth is stressful and carries many challenges. Larry and Paul have great people at all levels in the organization helping to support their growth and address these challenges. They now have a much more solid operational foundation upon which to continue their growth.

Posted: 24 October, 2007 Permalink | Comments (0)