Industry Forum

Strategy & Management Systems

Our benchmarking research shows that the greatest challenge for small and medium sized manufacturers is the ability to develop and implement an effective vision and strategy that drives results.

Industry Forum’s Competitive Strategy and Management Systems expertise helps manufacturing businesses put the foundations in place to be able to manage and grow their business over the long-term.

In order to prosper within an increasingly competitive landscape, businesses need to understand how to configure their entire business to ensure they remain competitive for the long-term. This remains the most critical but un-tackled challenge for many small and medium manufacturers.

Vision and strategy are the starting point for developing the foundations of the business. Having a solid business plan, the right metrics, business process structure, organisation structure, leadership and compliance to an International Quality Management System are all absolute essentials for survival in a competitive world. For more than 20 years Industry Forum has helped thousands of businesses understand and implement effective Strategy & Management Systems. Our expertise covers the following key areas.

  • Vision and strategy development
  • Strategy deployment
  • Business planning
  • Business performance measurement
  • Quality Management Systems – ISO, IATF, VDA QMC & AS Standards
  • Core Tools – Automotive & Aerospace industry standards
  • Business process design
  • Leadership, organisation analysis & design and cultural development

Common Challenges and How We Can Help

Topic Examples Benefits Timescale
Vision & strategy development
  • Underperforming business or not reaching your full potential
  • Unclear or foggy long-term plan for the business
  • Not sure which direction to go - facing change or risk
  • Chaotic operations and short term reactive fire fighting
  • Misaligned leadership team with conflicting or unclear priorities
  • Ability to grow the business and deliver sustainable financial returns
  • Identifying the best opportunities for the business
  • Making the right products for the right markets
  • Leadership team alignment
  • Clear priorities and direction for the business and the workforce

Tailored to meet your needs

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One day course

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Strategy Deployment
  • Inability to deliver business plans, metrics or results
  • Poor alignment or control of delivering initiatives
  • Poor use of resources
  • Poor governance, discipline or controlled management
  • Poor or unclear accountability
  • Systematic means of managing the business from board level to shop floor
  • Delivery of initiatives, business plans and results
  • Ensuring precious resources are aligned and delivering on the highest priorities
  • Visual management and communication
  • Driving cultural change and workforce engagement

Tailored to meet your needs

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One day course

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Business planning
  • Unclear or disconnected plans and metrics
  • Unrealistic forecasts or targets with poor resource allocation
  • Disconnect between operational and financial metrics
  • Poor investment decisions or justifications for investment
  • Logical, structured and connected planning
  • Connected operational and financial plans
  • Justifications for investments and investment planning
  • Connected planning, review and control of performance
  • Designing and implementing business planning cycles

Tailored to meet your requirements

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Business performance measurement and management
  • Meaningless or non-existent metrics
  • Measuring the wrong things or wrong outcomes
  • Poor connectivity of top level and tactical metrics
  • Too many metrics
  • Poor cadence and governance
  • Poor or unclear accountability for results
  • Measuring the right things to deliver the right outcome
  • Driving the right employee behaviours
  • Systematic structure and process for measuring and managing business performance
  • Clear governance, reporting and communicating

Tailored to meet your requirements

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Business process design, implementation and improvement
  • Lack of or unclear business process architecture
  • Poor or ineffective processes and practices
  • Poor business planning, control, execution and risk management
  • Lack of process or continuous improvement culture
  • Poor customer satisfaction
  • Inability to meet business performance targets
  • Little or no continuous improvement methodology
  • Streamlined business process architecture.
  • Increased productivity, reduced waste and non value added activity
  • Increased resource utilisation and improved accountability and responsibility
  • Performance based culture and use of data and metrics to drive business decisions
  • Improved risk management and business resilience
  • Increased customer satisfaction and competitive performance

Tailored to meet your requirements

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Leadership development
  • Inability to meet business performance targets or plans
  • Poor employee engagement or retention
  • Under performing at business or department level
  • Lack of employee capability or talent management
  • Inability to manage business change or transformation
  • Inability to deploy strategy to deliver business results
  • Aligned leadership teams with the will and capability to succeed
  • High employee engagement, performance and morale
  • Delivering strategy, business plans and targets
  • Building a healthy company culture
  • Ability to deliver organisational change successfully

Tailored to meet your requirements

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Organisation analysis and design
  • Inability to meet business performance targets or plans
  • Poor organisational clarity
  • Lack of accountability or ownership
  • Inability to manage business change or transformation
  • Inability to deploy strategy to deliver results
  • Organisational design aligned with achieving strategy or business objectives
  • Clear accountability and responsibility aligned with business process
  • Ensuring the right talent is in the right role for maximum effectiveness

Tailored to meet your requirements

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Automotive Management Systems & Core Tools

Topic Examples Benefits Timescale

IATF 16949 services
  • Concern over gaining IATF16949 certification
  • Poor audit performance and worry over correcting non-conformances
  • Poor organisational knowledge/skills/ competencies to deliver or maintain certification
  • Gap analysis and consultancy giving you the confidence to gain IATF certification
  • Increasing awareness and capability of the workforce
  • Developing Auditor capabilities
  • Developing the capabilities of the workforce to implement and use quality management tools and practices
  • Consultancy and Implementing requirements of the standards
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VDA QMC services
  • Need to meet mandated OEM requirements to supply (VDA QMC 6.3, 6.5, Formel Q & PSB)
  • Poor organisational knowledge/skills/competencies to deliver or maintain VDA QMC compliant business practices
  • Gap analysis and consultancy giving you the confidence to gain VDA QMC certification
  • Increasing awareness and capability of the workforce
  • Developing Auditor capabilities
  • Developing the capabilities of the workforce to implement and use quality management tools and practices
  • Consultancy and Implementing requirements of the standards
  • Performing internal or supplier audits to VDA QMC 6.3 on your behalf
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Automotive core tools
  • Need to meet industry or OEM mandated requirements and standards (IATF16949)
  • Problems launching new products to meet, time, cost and quality objectives
  • Poor management/governance or structured approach to launching new products
  • Quality, cost and delivery performance issues
  • Satisfying industry (IATF16949) and customer requirements
  • Gap analysis and consultancy to ensure the right solutions are identified and implemented
  • Developing the capabilities of the workforce to implement and use the latest quality management tools and practices
  • Driving a zero defects culture and delivering 100% OTIF
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Aerospace Management Systems & Core Tools

Topic Examples Benefits Timescale

Aerospace Management Systems (AS standards)
  • Need to meet industry or OEM mandated requirements and standards
  • Problems launching new products to meet, time, cost and quality objectives
  • Poor management/governance or structured approach to launching new products
  • Quality, cost and delivery performance issues
  • Worry over correcting internal and external audit non-conformances
  • Satisfying industry and customer requirements
  • Gap analysis and consultancy to ensure the right solutions are identified and implemented
  • Developing the capabilities of the workforce to implement and use the latest quality management tools and practices
  • Driving a zero defects culture and delivering 100% OTIF
  • Consultancy in audit non-conformity containment, root cause analysis and corrective action
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Global Management Systems

Topic Examples Benefits Timescale

ISO 9001:2015
  • Need to meet industry or customer mandated requirements and standards
  • Lack of or unclear business process architecture
  • Poor or ineffective processes and practices
  • Poor business planning, control, execution and risk management
  • Lack of process or continuous improvement culture
  • Poor customer satisfaction
  • Inability to meet business performance targets
  • Ability to enter bids and tenders/prove compliance
  • Streamlined business process architecture
  • Increased productivity, reduced waste and non value added activity
  • Increased resource utilisation and improved accountability and responsibility
  • Performance based culture and use of data and metrics to drive business decisions
  • Improved risk management and business resilience
  • Increased customer satisfaction
  • Improved competitive performance
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ISO 45001:2018
  • Poor organisational knowledge/skills/competencies to deliver or maintain certification
  • Inability to meet Health & safety performance targets
  • Need to meet legislative and regulatory requirements
  • Poor business planning, control, execution and risk management
  • Developing Auditor capabilities
  • Developing the capabilities of the workforce to implement and use quality management tools and practices
  • Reduced costs
  • Reduced risks
  • Lower employee absence and turnover rates
  • Fewer accidents
  • Lessened threat of legal action
  • Improved standing among suppliers and partners
  • Better reputation for corporate responsibility among investors, customers and communities
  • Increased productivity, because employees are healthier, happier and better motivated
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ISO 14001:2015
  • Need to meet industry or customer mandated standards
  • Compliance to qualify for RFQs and ITTs
  • Poor management of environmental considerations
  • Poor company image
  • Satisfying industry and customer requirements
  • Boosting company image and employee engagement
  • Understanding how certification can boost business performance
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BS OHSAS 18001
  • Need to meet industry or customer mandated standards
  • Compliance to qualify for RFQs and ITTs
  • Poor management of Health & Safety considerations
  • Poor company image
  • Satisfying industry and customer requirements
  • Boosting company image and employee engagement
  • Understanding how certification can boost business performance
Enquire

Get in touch and talk to us

Industry Forum can provide a range of services to help improve your organisation’s manufacturing.  We don’t offer one single standard solution, instead we get to know your organisation, your people and the environment within which you operate before working with you to find an approach that is tailored to your requirements, meeting your specific needs and addressing your most pressing challenges.

Industry Forum can provide you with a range of expertise to support initiatives from large manufacturing improvement programmes across a multi-site organisation to single projects in an individual plant. Industry Forum has a proven record of helping manufacturers of all sizes achieve their operational goals.

From design right through to implementation we pride ourselves on our ability to transfer the necessary skills to your people and to ensure that you benefit from tangible and sustainable improvements to your business.

What Next?

For further information and an initial confidential discussion of your needs, please call +44 (0)121 717 6600 or email us today.

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