Costs have to come down. And nobody can say with any evidence where.
A cost reduction spread evenly across departments rarely delivers the result you want, and often hits exactly what carries the operation. We don’t look at what can be trimmed from what exists, but at what has to stay in order to succeed. That delivers bigger savings, and a company that comes out stronger.
The low-hanging fruit has been picked
In good years companies sail less close to the wind, and costs creep up unnoticed. The first savings are quickly found, but they aren’t enough. The next step is harder, and has consequences that have to be lived with.
Experience shows that nobody can say with certainty which costs are needed to carry the operation, and which contribute nothing to the company’s success. So the cuts fall where resistance is lowest, or evenly across all departments.
And with those savings, the capacity that was quietly holding everything together disappears too, unnoticed.
The first question: what needs to be in place to succeed?
It starts with a clear vision and ambition for the company, translated to the site or business unit in question. From there we build up from a blank sheet, not from last year’s budget: which activities and resources are needed to achieve the strategic objectives?
Every item of spend is justified, with zero as the starting point. Activities that don’t pass the test go completely, rather than a little everywhere.
The second question: how can what remains be done more efficiently?
For the work that remains, we design the ideal set-up, fully aligned with the vision: activities combined, simpler processes, fewer layers in the organisation, waste removed, and automation where it pays. We then test that design against practical constraints and business risks. And we look at what more can be done with the skills already in place.
We do this together with your management team and the people who know the work, so that the design is theirs and they can implement it themselves.
The result is a substantial cost reduction, and an organisation shaped around where the company wants to go.
