Feeling exhausted? How to avoid a repeat of last year’s hectic December

Feeling exhausted? How to avoid a repeat of last year’s hectic December.

Be honest, how was your December? The increase in demand for your products in the lead up to the festive season should bring excitement to manufacturing companies, but if the month brought nothing but frustration and feelings of overwhelm, then it’s time to stop for a while and rethink your processes.

To prevent a chaotic end to this year you really should take time out and take a close look at your current processes, work out what’s working well and what isn’t, and be prepared to ask yourself some tough questions.

Embrace the power of change

Change isn’t always a comfortable state, but when changes are made that make your life easier and bring peace of mind it becomes very appealing! Think of change as an opportunity to get back that spark you had when you first formed your company, to not only serve your customers but to truly delight them and be the envy of your competitors!

Streamline the heck of it

To eliminate those feelings of exasperation during busy periods you’ll need to streamline your processes to optimise their efficiency. Now, this can be tricky if you’re not aware of the alternatives and the capabilities of the order management systems that are available to you.

For instance, that excel spreadsheet that did the job perfectly well when you were starting your business but is now nothing but an irritation, can be replaced with easy-to-use digital process automation web application to speed things up with complete accuracy.

Even if you’re not sure how improvements can be made, or what tools you will need to achieve them, you should identify every process, and every step within every process, that is letting you down.

**Include your workforce **

The best way to analyse your processes is to step back and map them out. Start at the very beginning and keep going until the very end from the moment your customer places an order all the way through to the dispatch and invoicing. Don’t leave a stone unturned.

Talk to your employees about every stage and ask them open questions like these:

• What isn’t working well?
• What can be improved?
• Could technology replace any steps? What would you like to see automated?
• Where are mistakes being made?
• What processes take the most time?
• What would you change?
• If we were to invest in a piece of software or application that could improve our efficiency, what would it need to do?

At this question-asking stage of your review you may notice that your employees aren’t keen to offer suggestions for improvements. There may be a fear that ‘machinery will replace humans’ and that they’ll no longer be needed. The truth is that custom manufacturing software reduces the risk of human error, eliminates laborious repetitive tasks, improves safety, and increases job satisfaction. And with this extra time your team will be able to take on more meaningful tasks that really add value such as exploring new products or a new marketing avenue.

What do you want 2023 to look like?

Once you’ve gathered all the information, you need to ask yourself this very important question. It’s crucial that you align the overall business’ goals and objectives with your streamlining plans.

Maximise your review exercise with a walk-through of your production floor

The last thing we want you to do is to identify a time-wasting process but dismiss it thinking that a change isn’t possible. We’re here to challenge every, ‘there’s nothing we can do about that’ thought. It’s a real risk that these thoughts can prevent you from achieving your full potential.

This is where we can help.

We have developed a detailed audit process to help business owners gain clarity on their objectives and what they need to smash them. It consists of four steps: the analysis of your current processes and workflows, the formulation of an in-depth application specification and implementation plan, the creation of an interactive prototype and the building of a fully functional version of your bespoke business software.

One vital element of the first step includes the walk-through of your production, warehouse, and shop floors. This allows us to get up close and personal with every stage of your manufacturing process. We say ‘personal’ for good reason. We know that your business is unique, and you’ll need personalised requirements.

Without disrupting your operations, we’ll complete the walk-through with you to establish:

• Every step of every process
• How things currently work
• Who does what and when
• How long each step takes
• What systems/tools you use at each stage
• What’s working and what’s not
• Where the red flags are
• What solutions will increase production and team efficiency

Manufacturing process automation software can be seamlessly integrated into your current systems so there’s little training needed, and you can continue to serve your customers while implementation is taking place.

Whatever you do, don’t give up

Running a manufacturing business needn’t be stressful. Januarys shouldn’t be filled with dread, they should be filled with vitality, a feeling that you can achieve an even better year, and the energy to be even more creative and innovative.

Can we help?

If you’re interested to learn about every stage in our audit process and discover how our business automation software solutions can transform your manufacturing company, get in touch with us today.