Continuous improvement strategy for manufacturers
Maximize your innovation investments
Whatever the industry, manufacturers are being attacked from all sides. Competitive products, more efficient manufacturing processes, cheaper alternatives, new competitors, changing consumer trends, supply chain issues, lack of qualified employees, and quality and compliance issues make for an increasingly challenging and dynamic business environment for companies that make things.
Sometimes it's hard to keep up, much less break away. The majority of mid-sized manufacturers struggle with growth and customer retention in equal measure making it very hard to scale their businesses. When they do attempt to scale and modernize, 84% of senior executives report that their project did not meet their goals in a satisfactory manner.
When projects cost in the millions or tens of millions of dollars, a 16% satisfaction rate can be a bitter pill to swallow. Few companies have the financial wherewithal to absorb too many projects that don't deliver on their promises.
Sparrow and Associates can help you to better those odds by helping you to develop your growth strategy based upon real facts and data from your business. We can help you to improve your current business while creating a structure to support your desired growth and filling the gaps in process and personnel. Then we can help to prioritize your current activities to align with your mission, vision, values, and goals.
Services
Business Transformation
Business Transformation
Business Transformation
Our hallmark Everlean Business Transformation program is the perfect solution for seasoned manufacturers who have struggled to increase revenues or as an assessment and improvement tool for newly acquired companies.
Cultural Assessment
Business Transformation
Business Transformation
Culture eats strategy for breakfast. According to a Standish study 84% of major improvement projects do not achieve their goals. One of the largest barriers to success is cultural resistance. Before you start on a major project, let us assess your culture, and identify opportunities and strategies for improvement that will significantly improve your project's chances of sustainable success.
Operational Assessment
Business Transformation
Operational Assessment
Enterprise Value Stream Mapping exercises explore the movements of data and material, exposing waste across your business. Every facet of the business is explored in a current state study, and it is contrasted with a "future state" based on a mixture of current best practice and your business aspirations. You'll gain a comprehensive understanding of your business and a prioritized improvement plan.
M & A Consulting
Investment Studies
Operational Assessment
Fit matters.
Are you interested in expanding your business through acquisition? Don't roll the dice. We can help you to determine the cultural fit and true value of the opportunity you're considering. As important, we can help you to estimate your ability to improve that value if you proceed.
Not the best fit? We might also be able to point you in the direction of an appropriate opportunity or two.
Sales Training
Investment Studies
Investment Studies
Are your representatives and agents struggling with keeping up with your new capabilities. Partner Selling is a powerful course that teaches your sales and marketing team Challenger Sales techniques combined with 3D Negotiation and customized to your industry segment. Using real world cases, we show how to use Design Thinking to adapt to and capture new markets.
Investment Studies
Investment Studies
Investment Studies
Are you about to invest millions in capital equipment, solutions, or infrastructure. Let us help you to ratify that decision with a comprehensive investment study. Using current state data we'll help you to determine the appropriateness of the investment and timing, weigh it against other priorities, explore alternatives and forecast potential outcomes, risks, and countermeasures. We'll even help you to explore available grants to reduce the cost of your initiative. You'll make your decision based on a comprehensive data-backed study.
Lean Six Sigma Training
Lean Six Sigma Training
Lean Six Sigma Training
The average manufacturing plant is rife with wasteful practices and "hidden factories." Lean Six Sigma training and mentoring, for key employees, can significantly improve your Overall Equipment Effectiveness, and dramatically reduce defects and missed deadlines. We can train and certify Black Belt practitioners in your plant using your improvement targets as kaizen exercises.
Succession Planning
Lean Six Sigma Training
Lean Six Sigma Training
You've had a long and successful run and you're thinking about retiring in the next few years. Whether you're wanting to sell or pass your business along to successors, there is a lot to think about. We'll help you prepare for the best possible outcomes.
Digital Transformation
Lean Six Sigma Training
Digital Transformation
There are tremendous efficiencies to be gained through automation, connected ecosystems, robotics, and robotic process automation. It's also a great place to spend a lot of money for little practical return. The difference between high and low returns is preparation. We can do a digital transformation assessment, giving you a comprehensive roadmap of recommended prework and activities to ensure your investment produces the desired outcomes and is amortized quickly.