The Pursuit of Success
The Heidelberg Business Consulting team helps printshops sharpen
their competitive edge and boost their profit margins, as potential
savings are often found where you least expect them.
Friedhelm Spohr and Josef Miebach from Moeker Merkur Druck GmbH & Co. KG are clearly amazed by the results: "We never thought there was quite so much room for improvement," they said. Although the management team at this full-service printshop in Cologne knew that some of the company's processes were not perfect, they never for a moment thought that optimizing the processes would raise productivity by 20 percent and cut production costs. "The potential for increasing productivity is usually much higher than expected," says Fritz Jaeger, Head of Heidelberg Business Consulting. A printshop often buys a machine without adapting its processes accordingly, thus wasting valuable potential to lower costs or cut throughput times, for example. However, the current economic situation is encouraging companies to take a new approach. "Many customers are now optimizing their processes in order to get ahead once the crisis has passed," reports Jaeger.
Getting Staff on Board
"No one knows the workplace better than the staff themselves. That's why it's important to integrate them into the change process - from the initial idea right through to implementation," emphasizes Jaeger. In this way, they can define their own day-to-day tasks and standardize their workflows themselves as part of an improvement process. "Poorly defined responsibilities and processes that have developed over time are the main causes of inefficient procedures and time-consuming decision-making processes between departments," explains Jaeger. "It is important to define clear, achievable goals and to divide these into small steps. Immediate signs of success motivate staff to drive forward further improvements in the long term," he adds.
Pinpointing and Eliminating Weaknesses
The Heidelberg Business Consulting team first takes a close look at a printshop's business processes before working together with company representatives to analyze the pinpointed weaknesses and draw up an action plan with measures for improving performance. "They determine where it is possible to achieve quick wins and which processes have to be completely overhauled. "Thanks to our experience and objectivity, we can take a multi-pronged approach," explains Jaeger. For example, we can focus on the information and material flows and logistics processes, analyze the machinery or job-processing sequence, implement tailor-made training for the printers and/or standardize the makeready processes.
Continued Improvement in the Long Term
To ensure that the agreed measures really take hold, managers must lead by example. It is also important to continually measure results and to inform staff regularly of successes or shortfalls. "This is the only way to ensure a continuous process of improvement and to establish a successful corporate culture that lasts," emphasizes Jaeger.
The "5 S" method is a first step on the way to sustained improvement:
1. Sort:
Identify all the objects that are not needed at the workplace and, after a grace period, either store or dispose of them. For example, is there any need to store old operating instructions or faded color swatches in the desk drawer?
2. Straighten:
Store all materials with a clear structure and in order of importance (used frequently/infrequently). The outlines on the "shadow board", for example, show which tools are required at a machine and, above all, when they are missing.
3. Shine:
Keep the workplace clean. A maintenance schedule detailing minor regular maintenance tasks for each shift increases the service life of the machine in the long term and reduces the likelihood of failure.
4. Standardize:
Make tidiness a rule and document the progress. Clearly labeled pallet spaces cut search times and reduce the risk of damage during transportation.
5. Sustain:
Comply with all four points and seek to continually improve them.
As a first step for printers looking to improve, Heidelberg Business Consulting offers a "company barometer" for printshops that are not sure of the full potential of their business. Consultants spend a day examining the company's business processes and drawing up suggestions for improvement that the printshop can then implement independently and promptly. "We were impressed with how quickly the consultants pinpointed unproductive processes and helped us boost performance in the short term with their practical suggestions for improvement," said the management team of Moeker Merkur Druck.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Business Consulting
Fritz Jaeger
Phone: +49 6221 92 4800
E-Mail: fritz.jaeger@heidelberg.com
Friedhelm Spohr and Josef Miebach from Moeker Merkur Druck GmbH & Co. KG are clearly amazed by the results: "We never thought there was quite so much room for improvement," they said. Although the management team at this full-service printshop in Cologne knew that some of the company's processes were not perfect, they never for a moment thought that optimizing the processes would raise productivity by 20 percent and cut production costs. "The potential for increasing productivity is usually much higher than expected," says Fritz Jaeger, Head of Heidelberg Business Consulting. A printshop often buys a machine without adapting its processes accordingly, thus wasting valuable potential to lower costs or cut throughput times, for example. However, the current economic situation is encouraging companies to take a new approach. "Many customers are now optimizing their processes in order to get ahead once the crisis has passed," reports Jaeger.
Getting Staff on Board
"No one knows the workplace better than the staff themselves. That's why it's important to integrate them into the change process - from the initial idea right through to implementation," emphasizes Jaeger. In this way, they can define their own day-to-day tasks and standardize their workflows themselves as part of an improvement process. "Poorly defined responsibilities and processes that have developed over time are the main causes of inefficient procedures and time-consuming decision-making processes between departments," explains Jaeger. "It is important to define clear, achievable goals and to divide these into small steps. Immediate signs of success motivate staff to drive forward further improvements in the long term," he adds.
Pinpointing and Eliminating Weaknesses
The Heidelberg Business Consulting team first takes a close look at a printshop's business processes before working together with company representatives to analyze the pinpointed weaknesses and draw up an action plan with measures for improving performance. "They determine where it is possible to achieve quick wins and which processes have to be completely overhauled. "Thanks to our experience and objectivity, we can take a multi-pronged approach," explains Jaeger. For example, we can focus on the information and material flows and logistics processes, analyze the machinery or job-processing sequence, implement tailor-made training for the printers and/or standardize the makeready processes.
Continued Improvement in the Long Term
To ensure that the agreed measures really take hold, managers must lead by example. It is also important to continually measure results and to inform staff regularly of successes or shortfalls. "This is the only way to ensure a continuous process of improvement and to establish a successful corporate culture that lasts," emphasizes Jaeger.
The "5 S" method is a first step on the way to sustained improvement:
1. Sort:
Identify all the objects that are not needed at the workplace and, after a grace period, either store or dispose of them. For example, is there any need to store old operating instructions or faded color swatches in the desk drawer?
2. Straighten:
Store all materials with a clear structure and in order of importance (used frequently/infrequently). The outlines on the "shadow board", for example, show which tools are required at a machine and, above all, when they are missing.
3. Shine:
Keep the workplace clean. A maintenance schedule detailing minor regular maintenance tasks for each shift increases the service life of the machine in the long term and reduces the likelihood of failure.
4. Standardize:
Make tidiness a rule and document the progress. Clearly labeled pallet spaces cut search times and reduce the risk of damage during transportation.
5. Sustain:
Comply with all four points and seek to continually improve them.
As a first step for printers looking to improve, Heidelberg Business Consulting offers a "company barometer" for printshops that are not sure of the full potential of their business. Consultants spend a day examining the company's business processes and drawing up suggestions for improvement that the printshop can then implement independently and promptly. "We were impressed with how quickly the consultants pinpointed unproductive processes and helped us boost performance in the short term with their practical suggestions for improvement," said the management team of Moeker Merkur Druck.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Business Consulting
Fritz Jaeger
Phone: +49 6221 92 4800
E-Mail: fritz.jaeger@heidelberg.com
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Heidelberg Business Consulting
Heidelberg Business Consulting helps companies in the print media industry optimize their business processes, realign their marketing and sales strategies, provide personnel with training, make good investment decisions, and improve their controlling and financing structures.
