Standardization

40 Process Maps, 35 Standard Operating Procedures, and 51 Work Instructions. For a leading distributor of industrial fasteners and components, that was the volume of documentation required to standardize Quote-to-Cash. Developed as dynamic tools, the collaboratively developed materials are improving clarity and efficiency across the organization. Or as one employee put it, “This makes our life so much easier!”

Here’s the back story: A global provider of fasteners and components recently acquired a smaller components distributor, a strategic investment in scale and diversification. Despite the smaller firm’s reputation for outstanding service, the acquiring firm identified deficits in process definition and documentation. The smaller organization was run largely based on the informal knowledge of long-term employees, which made it difficult to accurately assess inventory and performance levels.

The combined organization turned to Kormac for support in mapping its Quote-to-Cash process, developing Standard Operating Procedures for key roles, and revealing operational improvement opportunities. In partnership with cross-functional employee teams, we standardized and documented the “one best way” for all key functional processes across Sales, Accounting, Purchasing, Warehouse, and Imports.

This “SOP Rocks!” project involved collaboration with the entire client organization: one-third of employees participated directly, and we trained the other two-thirds in the new processes. We also defined new KPIs and dashboards and shared the new approach on the employee intranet.

The new toolset was met with rave reviews from employees across the organization:
• “Now we have actual processes to follow!”
• “These are like a contract with my team.”
• “This saves me so much time and takes away the frustration!”
• “Thank you! We desperately needed this!”
• “After the documentation, everything is simple to do.”

Kormac enjoys making life easier and organizations more effective. Sometimes all you need is agreement and clarity on the “one best way.”