5 Day Process Improvement – Pharmaceutical Training Company

We worked with a Pharmaceutical Training Company who was seeking to reduce their process-cycle time from initial enquiry of a training course through to receiving payment. The aim was to reduce the time taken for enrolment to increase cash flow and reduce errors and so we carried out a 5 day process improvement activity.

Prior to the start of the workshop, we held a telephone consultation with the client to discuss the process that requires improvement, the pain points and their objectives. In this meeting, we also confirmed who the key stakeholders would be to involve in this activity to ensure that the right people were engaged.

During the 5 days we carried out a series of interviews and workshops with the key stakeholders identified from the telephone consultation. We carried out brown paper group exercises to engage the entire team and did a group Lean simulation exercise to demonstrate how much waste can be eliminated from the process. This is critical to ensure teams understand why the change is happening, thus ensuring that the change can be embedded and sustained.

At the end of the workshop, the client had a newly designed “to be” process that met their required objectives and delivered maximum value. They also had a list of deliverables and a roadmap to make the future state process a reality. This had assigned owners and timescales to ensure accountability. The team was left with a realistic and implementable plan.

Following the 5 day process activity, we arranged a follow up call to gauge the effectiveness of the solution and provided further guidance as required.

In the end, we achieved a 27% reduction in process-cycle time resulting in improved cash flow and efficiency, equivalent to a saving of £202,500 per annum or 6.75 FTE.   This time saving was re-invested by repurposing roles to facilitate extra sales.  By making the team more efficient and ensuring that time was spent on value-adding activities, it allowed the training company to drive more sales with the same resources.

To find our more about our 5-Day Lean Process Improvement Service Package, click here.