Author: Bianca Muniz

In order for you to buy a new T-shirt, someone had to plant a cotton plant, process it, turn it into fabric, cut, sew, wrap, transport it until it reaches the store for purchase. And there’s still reverse logistics. Supply chain management involves the flow of various participants and elements and is directly associated with the results that a company can achieve. Understanding all this dynamics provides process optimization, increased efficiency, and, consequently, customer satisfaction.

What is Supply Chain and How Did It Originate?

A supply chain is a complex and interconnected system that involves all stages that transform raw materials into finished products and deliver them to the end consumer. Involving departments, sectors, processes, technologies, and other agents, the functioning of the chain depends on integration and interaction among the involved parties. The term “supply chain” was implemented in the 1980s and comes from the translated version of the English “Supply chain.” However, the concept of transforming raw materials into finished products dates back to the dawn of humanity. Supply chain management evolved from segmented operations with separately optimized systems to rigid integration, later to flexible integration, until reaching today’s strategic integration.

The Composition of the Chain:

Suppliers: Companies that provide raw materials, components, services, or other inputs necessary for manufacturing.

Manufacturers: Transform the inputs obtained from suppliers into finished products for sale to end consumers. Involves manufacturing processes, assembly, packaging, among others.

Distributors: Essentially the bridge between manufacturers and retailers. These are companies that can store and transport finished products to retailers or even directly to end consumers.

Retailers: Sell the product directly to consumers, through a physical or virtual store.

Consumer: All individuals who purchase or use the products or services.

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Much more than a methodology, Lean Office can be understood as a transformative philosophy. This practice enhances efficiency by eliminating waste and optimizing your organization’s administrative processes.

The main focus of Lean Office is to maximize customer value by reducing, or even eliminating, everything that does not add value.

Have you ever imagined how administrative processes would be if they were executed with fewer bureaucracies or irrelevant tasks?

The point of this philosophy is to create agile and efficient systems that are quickly adapted to market demand, considering mainly administrative activities optimization and simplification.

What is Lean Office?

Lean Office is a perspective based on the principles of lean manufacturing, specifically for administrative processes and operations.

The lean philosophy originated on the “shop floor,” aiming to improve the execution of activities to combat waste in industrial processes.

In this sense, when it comes to Lean Office, the lean methodology optimizes the flow of non-manufacturing or physical activities. That is, those corresponding to the administrative environment and offices.

It consists of adapting and improving the flow of information and knowledge while eliminating various wastes, such as time spent on bureaucratic activities.

Broadly speaking, the methodology will identify and eliminate activities that do not add value to the business, enabling the simplification of workflows, improving communication, and increasing productivity in offices.

What does Lean Office eliminate and what are its benefits?

Although it is not as simple to identify waste in Lean Office as it is in industrial processes, it is present in companies’ daily lives.

This happens because, unlike the production area, there are no physical products in the administrative sector, which makes diagnosis more challenging.

• However, Lean Office can eliminate:
• tasks and time spent on lengthy or bureaucratic activities;
• waiting time to perform a dependent activity in the flow;
• errors in data entry;
• production or excess of irrelevant documents and reports;
• misuse of technological solutions that should benefit the processes.

Considering the reduction of these items, the changes brought about by the Lean Office philosophy generate numerous benefits, among which are highlighted:

• elimination of waste in processes and reduction of costs associated with administrative areas;
• reduction in the execution and waiting time of activities;
• simplification and agility to workflows;
• reduction of errors and bottlenecks;
• process standardization and increased productivity;
• reorganization of the work environment;
• focus on activities with higher added value;
• improved communication and transparency in operations;
• quick responses and adaptation to market changes, demands, and requirements;
• greater involvement of professionals;
• control over information;
• quick identification of problems or adversities;
• continuous process improvement.

Implementing the Lean Office Philosophy

When it comes to administrative processes, it is necessary to consider that implementing Lean Office will pose some challenges. Among them, consider the difficulty in identifying waste, differentiating between those that are commonplace and those that originate from activities that do not add value.

With this in mind, the implementation of Lean Office is based on four essential steps:

1. Identify the activities that add value to the office

The first step to implementing Lean Office is to identify all waste. For this, it will be necessary to understand the strategic objectives set by the company that must be achieved.

By understanding the business goals, it will be much simpler to separate activities that add value from those that do not.

To better understand your processes, you need to have a macro view of the activities. This in-depth knowledge is obtained by mapping processes.

Using a BPMS software will allow you to map, understand, and evaluate workflow tasks, indicating which ones are essential to strategies and add value to the end consumer.

All tasks should be analyzed with a focus on the customer. That is, those that generate greater satisfaction or improve the experience.

2. Reduce waste and improve process quality.

With processes mapped and non-value-adding activities identified, it is time to consider ways to eliminate and reduce waste.

Tools, software, and programs such as 5S and Kaizen are capable of increasing and improving information flow and productivity.

Integrated Management Platforms make the process smarter, optimizing workflow. Process automation is a great tool when it comes to eliminating irrelevant tasks.

That is, it is the basis for real improvements to occur, contributing not only to waste reduction but also to process quality.

3. Remodel and standardize processes

Once the activity flow has been analyzed and unnecessary activities excluded, a new way of executing processes must be developed, in an optimized and standardized manner.

Standardization will ensure that all professionals involved perform activities in the same way. In addition to increasing productivity, this will improve performance.

Therefore, review procedures and involve employees to identify and suggest improvements. And, once standardization is implemented, provide training and development so that all changes are fully understood by those responsible and executors.

4. Implement the culture of continuous improvement

The issue of improving processes and reducing waste involves implementing and encouraging a culture of continuous improvement.

The more processes are observed and analyzed, mainly by checking performance indicators, the greater their improvements will be.

Keep in mind that Lean Office will require incessant and recurrent search to improve the operation and efficiency of activities.

Lean Office and Technology

Associating Lean Office with technology is an important step for implementing and continuing best practices.

Integrated Management Platforms combine functionalities and centralize data and information in a single solution.

The use of such tools encompasses numerous sectors and departments, including the administrative area, providing a unified and macro view that facilitates and speeds up decision-making.

It is possible to say that by combining Lean Office with Fusion Platform, an end-to-end platform, there will be improvements and monitoring of implemented changes.

As no company is the same, Fusion uses low-code configuration so that users can customize the tool according to their demands.

In addition to centralizing information, there is mobility so that data access can be done from anywhere, at any time.

Take advantage of of Fusion Platform’s benefits combined with Lean Office principles and enhance your administrative processes.

Count on Neomind to transform your company, eliminate waste, and promote a culture of continuous efficiency.

KPIs are quantitative measures, a strategic tool for managing companies, especially when it comes to structuring and evaluating performance and results.

Any business that is unable to control its own performance will hardly achieve success or healthy growth levels.

After all, without measuring the effects of strategies, how can one know if the decisions they made are serving to achieve their set objectives?

KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, enable understanding of the current scenario and guide decisions based on concrete data.

In addition to providing a view of goal progress, they favor emergent ideas that increase the whole company’s efficiency.

Because they are so important, we came up with this comprehensive article so that you understand what KPIs are and how to implement them in your business.

What do KPIs mean?

KPIs are metrics used to measure company performance.

In general, they are quantitative values ​​used to effectively analyze the results of internal processes, projects, or business initiatives.

In other words, they are a strategic aspect that helps in performance monitoring and management and the success of set goals.

These indicators reflect the maxim that what is not measured is not understood. And consequently, it cannot be improved.

Thus, by establishing KPIs, all departments benefit since the tool translates complex measures so that they are quickly understood.

How to classify KPIs?

The main objective when adopting KPIs is to obtain data on the company’s performance with reference to the strategies adopted.

In this sense, it is important that regardless of what is measured, it is linked to the objectives proposed in the business strategies.

It is worth mentioning that although a metric can become a KPI, they are not the same thing. Always keep in mind that KPIs are essential key indicators for the objectives set and essential for the progress of the business.

Metrics, on the other hand, are something to be quantified. In this sense, a metric, if important for the strategies and helping in decision-making, may become a KPI.

There are countless analysis possibilities that a company can perform. Therefore, KPIs deal with those that are fundamental, the keys to the business.

Thus, some category suggestions are:

Strategic

These are directly related to the objectives set in planning. They offer a comparison between the actual scenario and what was stipulated previously.

Basically, they prove whether the expectations set were or will be met.

Tactical

These indicators will provide an understanding of whether the company is close to achieving its larger objectives. In this case, the goals set are one level below the strategic ones.

Quality

They can measure everything from process efficiency to customer service. Among the main indicators are defect rates, product durability, or customer complaint percentages.

These indicators should be associated with issues such as increased revenue and customer loyalty.

Sales

This indicator is fundamental to understanding the consumer and whether the efforts applied have contributed to sales team success.

In this sense, it can be composed of lead conversion rate, average ticket, cost of acquisition per customer, number of new customers, among others.

Marketing

They are directly associated and complementary to sales indicators.

Some examples of indicators are based on campaign conversion rate, click-through rate and site bounce rate, social media followers, and cost per click.

Logistics

Regarding logistical issues, indicators can identify opportunities and monitor supply chain progress.

Examples of indicators include inventory turnover, storage cost, loss rate, average delivery time, among others;

Productivity

Evaluates yield and efficiency of the company’s internal processes. They measure the amount of resources used to generate a product or service.

There are numerous analyses that can be applied, such as idle time, quality level, productive capacity rate, average cycle time, productivity per employee, cost per hour worked, among others.

Financial

They take into account different indicators such as cash flow, liquidity, profitability, and indebtedness. Understanding financial operations leads to better development in all areas.

Some examples of indicators are: average ticket, return on invested capital, turnover of working capital, EBITDA, and more;

Implementing KPIs in your company

The best way to measure your company’s results is to create indicators based on your reality. To do this, just:

1. Set your objectives: delimit what results the company wants to achieve. KPIs are key indicators and must be associated and directly linked to the organization’s objectives;
2. Choose relevant indicators: each key indicator needs to be strategic, and its analysis directly related to objectives, decisions, and goals set. List everything that may be relevant or impactful to the business. Focus on indicators that will represent significant progress that demonstrate real growth. The data needs to be quantifiable for control and measurement;
3. Rely on appropriate tools: it is of no use to create insightful indicators if the collection, analysis, and visualization of data are not facilitated. Integrated Management Platforms are excellent for this type of control. Especially when it comes to Fusion Platform, which has a control center to check data and indicators in real-time, with complete reports that facilitate understanding and decision-making;
4. Base your decision on KPIs: whenever you need to implement strategic changes to improve performance, consider KPI analyses. Having the correct indicators assists in future planning and will be the key to business success.
5. Constantly evaluate and monitor KPIs: a company is a living organism, where changes occur and new goals are set. Therefore, establish periodicity levels to analyze the results and keep the team aligned with the established objectives. Additionally, by observing which indicators were not achieved, there will be data to understand what generated this unsatisfactory result.

As you can see, KPIs are a tool that helps understand the paths taken by the company.

In this way, it allows the correction of issues that prevent the achievement of specific goals.

How to manage your company’s KPIs

One of the most important aspects of using KPIs is their management. That is, using indicators as tools to achieve the established objectives.

Managing KPIs consists of ensuring that the indicators remain aligned with what the organization expects. There is no doubt that this monitoring will be fundamental to identify trends, patterns, and possible threats to processes and results.

The use of a management system or an end-to-end platform enables the automatic collection, analysis, and visualization of data.

Thus, it is possible to properly monitor the indicators, allowing not only to check numbers but to understand the causes of KPI performance.

Using Fusion Platform, you understand how the use of these indicators is beneficial for the entire company. Especially regarding decision-making and actions.

With BPMS features, Fusion provides visibility, control, and data analysis related to the organization’s processes.

It also has the Central Analytics, where it is possible to gather all information about internal activity performance.

Thus, besides monitoring usage, the company can find ways to improve resource usage, implementing continuous improvement, maximizing results.

Furthermore, all necessary changes or additions of new Key Performance Indicators are easy to implement.

Another point is the components of each process or project, which can access the information by reviewing performance in relation to the set objectives and suggest improvements.

This ease allows the creation and analysis of reports rich in information and monitoring panels. Fusion allows access to data at any time, day, or location.

Have all the benefits and make more coherent decisions with the management of your KPIs. Transform your company and achieve better results. Try Fusion Platform.

The OKR methodology is a key aspect to accelerate development, optimize efficiency, and cultivate an excellence culture in your enterprise. Originated in Silicon Valley’s innovative context, the approach has proven vital for companies seeking to effectively achieve their strategic objectives. OKR stands for “Objectives and Key Results,” an strategy conceived in the 1980s by Andrew S. Grove, then CEO of Intel, but gained relevance in 1999 when Google adopted it as a management model.

At its core, OKR offers a simple method to align teams and promote commitment to measurable and flexible goals focused on achieving results. The focus of OKRs is to introduce more agility and simplicity into processes, providing clear answers to common managerial questions, such as, “Is this the ideal path?” Achieving significant goals set for the company is a constant concern for those who seek growth and expansion, and the OKR methodology contributes to this search for excellence.

How does the OKR methodology work?

To establish and execute OKRs effectively, it is important to consider two fundamental pillars:

1. What do I want to achieve (objective)?

2. How can I measure if I am on the right track (key results)?

The definition of the objective must be precise and clear, representing qualitatively the target that the company or sector aims to achieve. It should answer the crucial question, “Where do we want to go?” Above all, it should inspire and motivate employees, connecting them to the organization’s purpose and making them feel an integral part of it.

Key Results (KRs) are goals that have a direct impact on progress toward said objective. They provide measurable indicators to assess progress towards the end goal.

Therefore, it is paramount that KRs are quantitative and measurable, in order to facilitate monitoring and decision-making based on actual data. In other words, a well-constructed goal should detail what will be achieved and how progress will be measured. An effective practice is to associate each objective with a number between two and five Key Results, facilitating appropriate detailing and performance monitoring in relation to the goal.

Illustrating the OKR

To better understand, consider an example of an OKR related to the Human Resources area:

Objective: Reduce employee turnover

• 1st KR: Ensure that the salary for 80% of company positions is aligned with market salary ranges by the second quarter;
• 2nd KR: Implement career plans for 70% of positions by the third quarter;
• 3rd KR: Increase the satisfaction index of integration actions to 8 or more;
• 4th KR: Achieve a score of 8 or more in the annual climate survey.

It is important to note that in this example, the objective is annual. However, this timeframe can be configured according to the specific demands of the company or sector, such as being fulfilled on a semi-annual or quarterly basis. Regardless of the established timeframe, it is crucial to conduct periodic evaluations of Key Results to assess progress towards objectives. Additionally, a good practice is to hold bi-weekly check-ins, as objectives may evolve over the period.

The benefits of adopting the OKR method

First and foremost, it is necessary to understand that OKRs must be incorporated into the company’s identity and manifest through a culture that promotes communication and sharing of interconnected goals achievable both individually and collectively. This initiative allows each professional to clearly understand their scope of work, directing their efforts without expending energy on non-priorities.

The benefits obtained with the use of OKRs are:

1. Transparency in objectives: Through clear and measurable objectives, everyone in the company understands what needs to be achieved.
2. Collaborative management: With visibility of the company’s objectives and its respective areas, the entire organization can contribute suggestions to achieve the OKRs.
3. Focus and guidance: They help channel the company’s efforts and resources towards its priority goals, increasing team efficiency.
4. Innovation and creativity: Challenging teams to think outside the box, seek innovative solutions, and experiment with different approaches to achieve desired results.
5. Agility: Being an agile methodology, larger objectives can be broken down into smaller goals to achieve results. Shorter goal cycles allow for timely adjustments and better adaptation to change, reducing risks and waste.
6. Improved communication: Objectives and result indicators become easily understandable, facilitating more effective communication.
7. Employee engagement: The bottom-up approach of OKR in goal definition connects employees to the company’s objectives, increasing engagement and a sense of belonging.
8. Enhanced feedback: With well-defined KRs, feedback related to results becomes more objective, helping employees improve their performance and identify obstacles to goal achievement more easily.
9. Company growth: The OKR methodology is ideal for identifying areas with innovation potential, growth, and evolution within the organization, contributing to continuous performance improvement and, consequently, growth.

Common Challenges in Implementing OKRs

When implementing the OKR methodology, some difficulties may arise, and it is essential to anticipate them to ensure successful implementation. A frequent challenge is a lack of clarity and alignment. OKRs must be directly linked to the company’s overall vision, but there is often a mismatch in this connection.

To overcome this, it is important that each OKR is aligned with higher-level objectives, and its communication is clear and understandable to all team members. Conducting collaborative planning sessions is a good practice to ensure this alignment. Lack of monitoring and review is also an obstacle that can lead to a disconnect between established goals and daily actions.

To avoid this, establish regular review rituals, such as weekly or bi-weekly meetings, to assess progress and make adjustments when necessary. Using appropriate management tools to track and share OKR progress is an effective practice to maintain transparency and accountability. Finally, resistance to change is a common challenge when introducing a new methodology.

Employees may resist the implementation of OKRs, especially if they are accustomed to old practices. It is crucial to invest in effective communication, training, and demonstrations of the tangible benefits of the methodology to overcome this resistance. Anticipating these challenges and adopting strategies to overcome them from the beginning is key to a successful implementation and reaping the benefits of OKRs in the organization.

OKRs and Indicators

To extract the full potential of OKRs and achieve exceptional results, it is essential to have a solid support platform. This is where the Fusion Platform comes into play, an integrated management platform for Processes, Documents, and Indicators. With Fusion, it is possible to integrate OKRs with the Indicators module, which offers a comprehensive and effective approach to defining, measuring, and achieving organizational goals based on customizable analyses configured to better meet the company’s demands.

In addition to increasing transparency and visibility of results, it allows teams to act based on precise and updated information, driving the company’s success. Imagine the support department, for example. A KR for this team could be closing a specific number of support calls in a given period, compared to the number of calls that were opened. In the Fusion Platform, this data can be easily related and monitored in real-time through Indicators.

This allows the sales team to assess their progress and take corrective actions when necessary within a single system. Give Fusion Platform a try and experience the positive impacts of its use combined with the OKR methodology. Achieve goals more efficiently, get greater alignment between teams, and find out in-depth how each action contributes to the overall success of your company. Talk to one our consultants and take your organization to the next level!