Operations

Today’s fiercely competitive global economy raises the stakes in virtually every industry. To succeed, companies must cut fat and become lean, move faster, and grow more efficient. They must reinforce their core capabilities, find fresh sources of differentiation, and develop the capacity for ongoing change.

Many of the Acumen Strategy Engagements end with a recommendation to ‘fix operational issues.’   Acumen has a team of highly respected former Operations Executives and Lean practitioners that work with clients to understand interconnected issues and to engineer and execute an enterprise wide solution.  Our recommendations are tailored to the size of the company. We are a change agent for fixing only that which is broken.

Acumen does a comprehensive operational analysis to understand a business

Acumen’s operations analysis methodology is designed to understand cadence and balance.  We analyze business ‘engines’ – where the company (today and future) generates EBITDA, where the bulk of revenue is derived, the areas where the client envisions highest growth, and the best incubators for technology.   

Acumen tailors operations solutions with our clients

  • We never start with a pre-ordained solution
  • We believe that a profitable and well run business can have many forms; and not every operation needs a ‘school solution’ – if it is not broken, don’t fix it
  • We win with people – and solutions are most often found with employees.  We think hard about culture and acceptance of change.

The Acumen Model is Dynamic, Data Driven and Built on Metrics

Acumen’s Expertise in Operations Covers the Following Areas

Cost Efficiency and Asset Optimization – Acumen’s approach is to analyze and simulate opportunities to improve cash flow. We help companies release cash from the balance sheet, cut costs from operations, and improve asset effectiveness.  Acumen is expert at LEAN Value Stream Mapping as a tool in business evaluation

Manufacturing – Acumen helps companies build trim, flexible manufacturing networks that can adapt quickly to changing market needs. We focus on lean, increasing capacity by improving efficiency, and helping companies find and leverage capabilities that generate competitive advantage

Program Management – The ability to manage programs drives success in A&D companies.  PMs are the front line leaders in successful companies. Acumen helps to implement and streamline management processes in Process Asset Libraries that can be implemented across the enterprise.

Supply Chain Management, Outsourcing and Business-Process Offshoring – For most of our clients, 40-60% of enterprise costs are in the Supply Chain. We view a modern supply chain system – everything from requirements to acceptance to logistics to kits to the floor – as a competitive advantage if properly implemented. It affects cash, improves quality and productivity, and delivers a sustainable cost benefit. We work with companies to reduce unnecessary complexity, develop purchasing strategies, create global sourcing mechanisms, and construct stronger and more-productive relationships with suppliers.