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Look Back to Move Forward: The Year in Review

Look Back to Move Forward: The Year in Review

Continuous improvement – it’s a principle of Kaizen, or lean management, which encourages constant incremental advancements and uses past performance to suggest changes for future improvements. The coming new year is always a good time to reflect on the previous twelve months and look for new opportunities for improvement. With that in mind, here’s a recap of our informational offerings which we hope will help you achieve your goals for next year.

Flexibility

This year has seen remarkable changes, and one of the key elements to successful change management is flexibility. In February, we discussed how adaptability allowed ancient man to survive in hostile climates, and how it makes it possible for today’s facilities managers to handle the changing spatial needs of businesses and institutions. From telecommuting (August) to staffing fluctuations and workspace repurposing (January), adaptive furnishings are a good fit for agile organizations.

Proactive management

A proactive approach is one of the building blocks of continuous improvement, as well as a cost-effective way to manage change. Innovations in automation (February) help facilities and logistics managers monitor inventories and usage in real time, allowing them to respond to unexpected changes without any loss of throughput. A sound disaster recovery plan (September), including storage systems and inventory records that reduce or prevent loss, is the kind of forward-facing planning that supports business continuity and continuous improvement.

Efficiency

More efficient use of resources, whether it’s space, time, or finances, always results in better productivity – the ultimate goal of continuous improvement. When your facility can reclaim 50% of storage floor space with a mobile storage system or a vertical carousel system (October), that extra space can be utilized for more productive activities. RFID inventory management (August) lets retailers and logistics managers respond to unexpected demand with efficient JIT supply chains (July), with a resulting increase in sales productivity.

As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. A clear-sighted look at your organization’s productivity during the past year will show areas where you’re achieving continuous improvement, and areas where you can add flexibility, efficiency, and proactive management to take your processes to a new level in the new year.

 

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3 Key Questions for Sound Business Decisions

3 Key Questions for Sound Business Decisions

In a social situation, it’s always a good strategy to ask yourself three questions before speaking: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? These questions will make you socially successful, but they are equally valuable to ask when you’re making business decisions.

Since we’re experts in business storage solutions, we’ll illustrate this principal with storage decisions, although it applies to any type of business decision. Here’s how it works:

  1. Is it true?

As a business leader, you feel you know your business inside and out. You believe your storage space is adequate. Yet you see desks covered with stacks of files, and product boxes piled up in corners. What is the truth – do you have disorganized employees, or do you have insufficient storage?

Take the time to investigate the reasons behind the facts. You may indeed need additional storage, or perhaps your staff is just messy. Either way, the truth will lead you to a well-informed decision.

  1. Is it kind?

When it comes to corporate kindness, we usually think of the generous support businesses give to charities large and small. Another way to be kind is to apply green principles in your operations. If you’re considering, for example, a mobile shelving system, think about how it might fit in to your company’s green initiative. And don’t forget to look into the manufacturer’s sustainability program and their employee practices. A kind buying decision can pay you back in many ways.

  1. Is it necessary?

Business managers instinctively ask this question about every buying decision. But sometimes you get “solution tunnel vision,” applying the same solution repeatedly because it’s familiar. If you take a step back and talk to peers or consultants, you may find more practical solutions beyond the usual ones. For example, let’s say your business has grown and you’re feeling overcrowded in your current space. By talking to a storage consultant, you may learn that your current real estate footprint is actually quite sufficient for your needs if you change to a vertical shelving carousel (to use our storage example again). A outside perspective will often get you out of the solution tunnel and help you determine exactly what is necessary.

We’ve focused here on storage-related decisions because it’s our area of expertise, but these three questions are valid for any decision in your business, from sales to operations to HR. Ask yourself, “Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?” and the answers will give you actionable data.

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