Struggling to meet demand of customers is a common challenge for businesses today. This can be because of a number of reasons, but some of the most common are:

• A lack of labour

• An inefficient operation

• An operation that isn't designed to meet the demands of todays customers

• Pinch points within an operation

• Poor visibility of predicted orders, or actual orders

The list could continue.

This can also show itself in other challenges; high cost, a shortage of space to operate in, calls from your business to provide greater visibility or insight. In the end it all amounts to the same kind of challenge, how do you modernise your operation to become more agile, more effective, and be able to meet the demands of customers and colleagues alike?

The above can leave you with endless customer complaints, even the loss of customers and business as people move to alternative providers, or just give up. Internally within your business it can also put a huge strain on the relationship between the operation and the rest of the company. This is happening more than ever, the rise in demand during the pandemic period has, in general, not relented. However, the challenges to meet this demand have not eased either. If it isn't the reasons above, the volatility of the freight market makes maintaining good availability a big challenge too.

There are many solutions available that promise to ease these burdens, but which is the right one? How do you get a clear, unbiased view that will truly resolve your challenges rather than simply meet the equipment providers ambitious sales targets. I have seen far too many operations that have become victims of automating for automations sake. It can add cost, and add complexity when it should be doing the exact opposite.

The myriad of options can be overwhelming, especially if you have not had previous experience  of automated / mechanised solutions. There is no one size fits all solution, and it takes an experienced eye to fully understand the operation and to provide a real solution tailored to meeting your actual requirements.

It is not just a lack of knowledge either, poor or unstructured data can make an assessment more challenging, but importantly, not impossible. Most businesses don't have the resource available to focus on building a fit for purpose solution alongside their day jobs, so these projects struggle to get the support they need to secure the investment, despite the benefits completing it would bring.

The investment hurdles are also not as significant today as you might think. Solutions don't have to be huge fixed machinery, they can be mobile, flexible, and scalable. They can also be leased in some cases removing the heavy burden of securing large investment CAPEX.

Ultimately though, it is key to get professional, unbiased support to take you through the journey of understanding the true needs of your operation, designing the right solution, preparing the data and compelling insight to secure the investment / commitment, then guiding you through the preparation, installation, launch, and stabilization.

Experienced independent consultants can bring that focus, and capability. With Beyond Darwin, I bring the experience, the focus and partnership, with a sense of pragmatism to ensure the solution works for you and brings you the benefits you are aiming for.

If you think your operation could benefit from an effectiveness assessment, please reach out to me at dan@beyonddarwin.co.uk.

Let me help you deliver for your customers.

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