Improving Collaboration Efficiency Within the Company
The efficiency of individual departments or areas within a company does not necessarily equate to high organizational efficiency. Achieving organizational efficiency requires an end-to-end view of processes, which are typically designed to span across departments and functional areas. Defining and structuring interfaces plays a central role in enabling cross-departmental efficiency.
For medium-sized companies, implementation therefore involves a multi-level approach that considers individual departments, their roles, and the interfaces – empowering each role to complete its process steps effectively.
Below, we present some typical situations in medium-sized companies that need to be addressed to improve organizational efficiency.
In Administration
In a company’s administrative functions – such as order processing, procurement, finance, etc. – you typically find the core processes:
- Order-to-Cash (from customer order to payment receipt)
- Purchase-to-Pay (from demand to payment)
- Record-to-Report (accounting, monthly and quarterly closing)
Common findings in practice include duplicate data entry with parallel Excel lists, unclear authorizations, and poor master data quality.
A positive contribution to organizational efficiency can be achieved through targeted changes:
- Process Analysis focusing on media disruptions, interfaces, waiting times, missing information, number of rework loops, and required clarifications
- Process Chain Optimization with clear responsibilities, e.g., centralized creation of orders and master data, standardized forms, checklists, and simplified approval processes
- IT and Digitalization Support through ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and DMS (Document Management System) implementation, and establishing workflows for purchase approvals, vacation requests, incoming invoices, etc.
At the various interfaces, it must be ensured that all required information is available in the right quality, completely, and on time. This creates requirements for both incoming and outgoing process chains within and across departments.
In Production
In production, the core process is typically Order-to-Delivery (from order entry to shipment). This involves key topics such as material flow, production control, setup times, inventory, and quality management.
A positive contribution to organizational efficiency can be achieved through targeted changes:
- Value Stream Analysis to capture material and information flow from order entry to shipping, measuring lead times, processing times, inventory levels, and identifying bottlenecks
- Layout and Material Flow Optimization by shortening routes, creating logical workstation sequences, and ensuring timely and quantity-appropriate material availability using suitable methods
- Reduction of Setup and Processing Times through SMED approaches (Single-Minute Exchange of Die), standardized work instructions, and improved information availability
- Production Control Optimization with clear prioritization rules, realistic planning, and reduction of unfinished work
- Shopfloor Management with regular short meetings, KPI boards for key performance indicators such as equipment effectiveness, scrap rates, on-time delivery, and setup times
- Assignment of Responsibilities to one or more team leaders with accountability for results, involving maintenance, logistics, and other production-related areas
Interface management in production is usually significantly more complex. On the one hand, incoming information must include all relevant production data. On the other hand, production provides information to various departments for controlling individual orders and overall company performance. For example, material withdrawals must be documented, and working and machine times must be recorded by order or department.
Critical Success Factors
Efficiency improvements in end-to-end processes and across the organization succeed through a holistic view of the company’s requirements. The organization defines where each requirement must be met and what is needed to do so. The “what” may result from numerous upstream process steps. Therefore, each process step must consider what downstream steps require.
Conclusion
Organizational efficiency means building the entire company—its processes, roles, structure, governance, and culture—in a way that ensures value creation reliably, within the given timeframe, and with minimal friction. A smart combination of detailed analysis and focus on the overall picture drives efficiency across the organization.
THE MAK’ED TEAM develops effective, cross-industry concepts for medium-sized companies to sustainably improve efficiency. We view organizational efficiency as a process management system for holistic corporate governance. Combined with strategic alignment, this approach delivers valuable contributions to long-term competitiveness.
Learn more about business process management and digitalization here.
