How to achieve operational excellence in indirect areas
Global competition and the economic downturn are forcing companies to optimize their costs. An often overlooked potential lies in the indirect areas. Savings of 15 to 25 percent can be achieved through holistic optimization approaches.
But indirect areas are rarely addressed comprehensively, mostly due to a lack of transparency and measurable performance indicators. A holistic approach requires a unified view of all resources.
This allows areas to be evaluated, benchmarks to be established, and priorities to be set.
Nicolas Romfeld
Project ManagerSTAUFEN.AG
Nicolas Romfeld is Project Manager at STAUFEN.AG. He is Coach for executives, employees and teams, as well as Consultant for agile work and lean management. Already during his studies, he used lean management methods within student consulting projects. Since then, he managed several optimization projects with STAUFEN. Quality Engineers and STAUFEN.AG, in different industries, in production and assembly as well as in indirect areas. Currently, Nicolas Romfeld is specialized on collaboration in development departments using lean development. Agile work is his passion for more than five years, that’s why he is significantly involved in the development and expansion of Staufen’s consulting approach Agile Performance. He is also a companion for employees, teams, and companies in the transition towards an agile organization.
Read moreAmazonas
The „Amazonas“ performance framework from Staufen enables holistic and interlinked optimization of indirect areas.
The framework uses various performance clusters (e.g., service portfolio, processes) to meet performance criteria in a sustainable, flexible, and efficient manner. It provides a structured and holistic approach, addressing pain points and helping companies achieve their goals of operational excellence in indirect areas.
- Structuring knowledge
- Managing data
- Ensuring knowledge availability
- Designing end-to-end
- Making it measurable
- Reducing waste
- Managing portfolio
- Managing deviations
- Proceeding iteratively
- Ensuring agility
- Designing a network
- Shaping change
- Leading effectively
- Promoting team performance
- Developing talents
- Developing a digitization strategy
- Digitizing processes
- Using AI
- Structuring knowledge
- Managing data
- Ensuring knowledge availability
Why Amazonas?
The Amazon is not only one of the largest rivers in the world, connecting the most diverse ecosystems, but is also synonymous with constant change, growth and diversity. Just as the river is constantly in motion, bringing life to everything around it, the Amazonas framework is designed to ensure that processes in indirect areas are vital and efficient.
The Staufen Amazonas framework is divided into seven performance clusters, each of which contains specific enablers and thus enables interlinked optimization in the indirect areas.
Typical pain points,
which make it necessary to optimize the indirect areas:
- Shorter product lifecycles and increasing pressure to innovate
- Complex product structures and extensive product portfolios
- Rising costs
- Complicated processes and long lead times
- Low value contribution of indirect areas to the core processes
- Highly dynamic digitalization
- Increasing employee turnover and loss of know-how
- Organization too slow to react to rapidly changing customer requirements
Desired target state
Through the targeted application of performance enablers in the various clusters, companies achieve operational excellence that is characterized by high efficiency, flexibility, and sustainability. These improvements are measurable and result in an optimized cost structure, improved processes, increased employee satisfaction, increased innovation, and ultimately increased customer value.
Benefits for the entire company
Significant efficiency gains in indirect areas.
Applying the Amazonas framework results in significant improvements in several key performance indicators. By optimizing processes and reducing complexity costs, operating costs can be significantly reduced.
Sustainable business models also increase the rate of innovation. Organizational agility is improved through flexible structures and high-performing teams. Sustainability goals are achieved through optimized processes, products and services. An end-to-end digitalization strategy ensures a seamless data flow and avoids system disruptions. Finally, the use of artificial intelligence can create additional efficiency reserves.
With the Amazonas framework, companies implement a structured and holistic approach to achieving operational excellence in their indirect operations. This leads to sustainable improvements that have a direct impact on the competitiveness and long-term success of companies.
Our project experience shows that when it comes to increasing efficiency, companies tend to focus only on the direct areas. This approach often falls short, as there is usually also potential in indirect processes that can make a significant contribution to improving results by streamlining.
Chrisitan Möllers
Partner, STAUFEN.AG
Nicolas Romfeld
Project ManagerSTAUFEN.AG
Nicolas Romfeld is Project Manager at STAUFEN.AG. He is Coach for executives, employees and teams, as well as Consultant for agile work and lean management. Already during his studies, he used lean management methods within student consulting projects. Since then, he managed several optimization projects with STAUFEN. Quality Engineers and STAUFEN.AG, in different industries, in production and assembly as well as in indirect areas. Currently, Nicolas Romfeld is specialized on collaboration in development departments using lean development. Agile work is his passion for more than five years, that’s why he is significantly involved in the development and expansion of Staufen’s consulting approach Agile Performance. He is also a companion for employees, teams, and companies in the transition towards an agile organization.
Read moreMichael Metzger
PrincipalSTAUFEN.AG
Michael Metzger is an experienced Lean consultant for indirect areas, functions and processes. While studying for an industrial engineer degree, he had early gained experience due to his practical activities with lean approaches. On this basis, he initially carried out several Lean Administration projects in various areas of the automotive industry at home and abroad. Subsequently, he transferred the approach also in other branches such as e.g. machinery and plant construction, logistics, energy industries and the banking industry he was able to achieve significant improvements. His experience as coach and trainer completes his competency profile. Michael Metzger has been an adviser at Staufen AG since 2013, he started as a consultant in Lean Administration and works as a Project Manager since 2016.
Read moreGet in touch with us.
If you would like to learn more about Amazonas framework from Staufen and how it can help you achieve operational excellence in indirect areas, give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you.
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