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It isn't often that we get to test our approach with other consultancies, but this programme allowed us to do just that. The results speak for themselves. Combine that with a positive experience of working with our team, clarity on benefits and sustainable performance and we know that we continue to be market leaders.

We are thrilled that our work with the fabulous Minor Weir and Willis in Birmingham has received international recognition by winning The 2024 Top Supply Chain Projects Award for Innovation. Well done to all involved and especially the team at MWW.

We are really proud of another successful joint venture with a customer.  Labour variances improved by £25,000 per week and material variances by £30,000 per week. All delivered with no automation what so ever and within six months.

The labour improvement is particularly important as organisations through out the United Kingdom are experiencing real issues in attracting and retaining skilled labour.

This case study, one of many, resolves that scenario with a vast productivity improvement. Not only did this deliver straight to the bottom line, it created a better working environment with far les non value adding activities and far more staff involvement.

Just shows what investing in people and choosing the right consultancy partner can deliver.

In this news item we wanted to share with you why our programmes have been so successful, and why they continue to deliver rapid yet sustainable benefits. Even though we have considerable operational and business experience, we always analyse each new situation before we start to implement change. We understand from over twenty years of delivering improvements that experience can equally obscure as well identify the causes of existing performance. It is just too easy to assume causes are the same as they were elsewhere, and we would rather base our work on accurate and detailed findings.

Next, we consider four areas within that analysis. Firstly, we examine the processes employed (or not) in the customer's organisation, looking at how they plan, store materials, deliver services, support core functions and so on. Secondly, we look at how management controls are applied, looking at how targets are set and communicated, what measurements are used and how data is used to drive improvement. Thirdly, we examine capabilities, meaning how the staff have been developed and what tools they have at their disposal.

Whilst, all these are important it is the final area that influences the speed and magnitude of change, and this is the analysis of Behaviours. We want to understand why staff think and act like they do. Having this knowledge will bring he programme to life, dramatically accelerating the rate of improvement and ensuring benefits are sustainable. Equally important, it will make the experience of the programme for your staff a more positive one.

Other support services such as consultancies, interim management and training organisations may well include one or more of these areas in their initial analysis, but it is the use of all four that stands our work apart. Consequently, our customers enjoy significant benefits, delivered rapidly and sustainably within a positive experience.

Hope you enjoy our latest case study, another success we are very proud of, so we decided to portray the achievements in a new way.

In parallel with the standard of operational improvement that you would expect from Applied Acumen, this case study introduces the way we have improved performance recording from operations, and used that to provide real time and accurate financial data. This data has been used to drive further operational improvements as performance gaps were able to be seen, and also were used to effect Commercial decisions on promotions, new launches and minimum sales volumes.

We are proud to announce that we have continued to pass the high standards set by the ILM and that our courses are accredited. So not only do customers enjoy the tangible improvements in performance, the new skills and enthusiasm from staff, their people gain a fully recognised qualification as well. In these difficult times, these courses are proving very popular and an assured, affordable and fast return on investment. Well done to all concerned.

8th June 2023

More recognition for Applied Acumen. We are really happy to have one of our programmes in the transport sector recognised by the Supply and Demand Chain Executive as a Top Supply Chain Project. Another success for the customer and significant financial benefits when so much of the sector is facing severe pressure. Well done all involved.

20th April 2023

We are delighted to announce that our own Richard Shipperbottom went down a storm at the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Conference in Milton Keynes, and we are assured that full clothing was on at all times.

7th December 2022

Applied Acumen were delighted to receive the Corporate LiveWire Global Award for Business Consultancy for the third year in a row. The judges praised Applied Acumen's notable IT achievements in addition to the significant advancements in developing the customer's staff and the continued development of ingenious commercial arrangements. These combined with Applied Acumen's considerable experience and resource have lead to fabulous, sustainable results for customers and available to a broader range of customers than contemporary offerings.