Potential analyses

Exploiting potential - increasing international competitiveness

Digitisation facilitates communication and data exchange in real time - worldwide - and is thus a driving force behind globalisation. Conferences and negotiations, as well as project and team meetings, can be conducted and held regardless of location and time. Services are offered online, the supply chain is networked and value creation takes place in a wide variety of locations around the world - wherever the location of one’s own establishment, the partner company, the supplier or the service provider offers the greatest advantages in each case.

Companies that do not exploit the potential of digitisation and globalisation will lose competitiveness not only on the international market, but even on the national market because of the competitive pressure. Recognising the potential that exists in one’s own company and in its foreign establishments is essential in order to compete in a globalised market. And that begins in the details: In in-house processes - in the value chain from procurement to production to logistics and sales, and beyond that even in administration in all its facets. REFA International is your partner when it comes to uncovering hidden potential and advises and coaches you worldwide - be it directly at your site, via video or telephone conference or through webinars and Online trainings.

Potential analysis: the gateway to increased productivity

A supplier's position in the market, whether national or international, is determined by its competitive strengths and weaknesses. The potential analysis is used to work out the strategic determinants for a company’s success and to identify weak spots and bottlenecks in the entire workflow, i.e. in the value chain including all assigned primarily non-value-adding areas. The aim is to remove obstacles and identify optimisation opportunities. The potential analysis provides indications of the areas in which efficiency can be increased with certain measures and thus productivity can be increased.

However, in many - also internationally operating - companies, the focus of an internally conducted potential analysis lies only on the supposedly critical and unprofitable processes. Personnel bottlenecks and a lack of methodological knowledge are often decisive factors in wanting to find and accept a quick, short-term solution. What is missing in these cases is the necessary systematic and holistic consideration of the optimisation potential in the company. This is where REFA International comes in: Recognised specialists with many years of expertise advise you on the topic on site or in your foreign establishment, conduct the potential analysis themselves or coach employees selected by you in order to develop an objective overall picture with opportunities that may have remained unseen.

The procedure: from potential and weak-spot analysis to action planning

Potential analyses are holistic observations of the company to be examined. Therefore, they include a whole series of individual analyses on specific fields, business departments and workflows in order to uncover weak spots and highlight opportunities. In most cases, freely accessible data, information or own estimates are sufficient for conducting the analyses and evaluating the operational processes; as a rule, confidential figures such as financial or cost data are not necessary.

The implementation of the potential analysis takes place in the following steps:

1. Planning and preparation of the analysis
2. Selection of the area to be analysed
3. Determination of the evaluation criteria
4. Selection of suitable competitors
5. Step-by-step analysis and evaluation of the criteria
6. Documentation and justification of the results
7. Development of measures and strategies to exploit the potentials

Typically, these analyses are carried out as part of the potential analysis - which is also an analysis of weak spots:

• Detailed analysis of the internal and external planning process from order intake to work preparation;
• Detailed analysis of internal and external capacity planning concerning employees and machines;
• Process analyses, especially at the bottleneck plants: Which employees do what and how?
• Activity analyses, especially at bottleneck plants, to record and subsequently evaluate the productive and unproductive time fractions of the employees;
• Material flow analyses, especially at bottleneck plants, to assess material supply and disposal together with its interfaces in terms of time and quantity;
• Setup time analyses - especially at the bottleneck plants - in order to record and evaluate the individual setup steps in detail;
• Utilisation degree analyses of the plants per Activity samplings to record the main and secondary utilisation times of the plants.

REFA International: Our offer

On the basis of the potential analysis, experts from REFA International can develop proposals for new work processes, activities and an optimised material flow in the entire workflow, both in the main plant and in branches abroad. Many of the existing problems in a company’s value chain can already be solved with simple means. The tapping of large potentials is usually possible with only slightly higher financial effort.

A potential and weak-spot analysis by REFA International usually leads to cost reductions of 10 - 30 %. Our experts will only carry out the counselling at your premises if these savings can be achieved. If this is not foreseeable, you will be informed within the first few days that there is no significant potential for rationalisation and the counselling will end at this point.