FAQs

How can I afford to pay consulting fees when my business is down in today's economy?
We guarantee at least a 3-to-1 return on your investment in six months or less. This guarantee is based on a formal assessment where you participate in determining the savings potential. After following our recommendations, if the guaranteed savings are not met, we will return a prorated portion of the fee to you.

How do I know if this applies to my business?
Prior to conducting an assessment, our Specialist(s) will visit your business to conduct an informal interview and pre-assessment. If we determine significant opportunities for improvement exist, we will recommend a formal assessment. If the potential for return on your investment is not significant, we will not recommend an assessment. You will owe nothing, but you will have gained the added comfort of our verification of your high-quality business processes.

Isn't change risky?
Failing to respond to market demands and pressures is very risky. Change can be uncomfortable, but striving to continuously improve and increase competitive advantage is necessary if a company is to thrive. Open communication and effective implementation are essential to successfully handle change. Many times, however, great ideas are poorly implemented. Our proven strategies and methodologies, combined with our experience, minimize the risk of undergoing change. That experience allows us to provide a solid guarantee to further minimize your risk.

Can this have a negative impact on our employees?
As part of our strategy for implementation, we believe in communication and involvement by all personnel, across the entire organization. By addressing issues openly and honestly, we reduce uncertainty and build trust. All productivity improvements are addressed first through attrition. Our clients are proud to have reduced staffing through no-layoff, attrition-focused strategies.

What is our role and what is Supply Velocity's role?
Supply Velocity's primary role is to help your organization reach its full potential. Our service is customized to meet your organization's needs and fit its culture. We can provide key training and coaching, or we can lead the implementation with a very hands-on approach. As your partner, we will work with you to fully understand your needs and issues.

How is Performance Measurement Different than Financial Measures?
Performance Measurement focuses on measuring what people in the company do to serve customers. It blends financial and non-financial measures that are leading and lagging. Performance Measurement is manifested in a Performance Scorecard that every department in an organization can use to guide their efforts. Most importantly, Performance Measurement prioritizes activities so all associates are working towards a common goal.

How is Strategy Deployed through Performance Measurements?
For a strategy to be successfully implemented, it must be deployed to the associates who do the work. The best way to do this is to clearly communicate and measure the outcomes you expect. Departmental Performance Scorecards guide people in their everyday work to implement your strategy.

What is Lean Operations?
Lean Operations is a strategy that has evolved from Total Quality Management (TQM) and Just In Time (JIT). It focuses on reducing waste and improving business process flow by using a series of mathematical and visual tools. Lean implementation results in swift improvements to the bottom line. Lean means doing more with reduced staffing, minimal inventory and less waste.

What is Six Sigma?
Six Sigma is a problem solving strategy that uses advanced statistical techniques to reduce variation in processes. It seeks to reduce defect levels to 3.4 per million units produced or transactions processed. At these high levels of quality, there is increased competitive advantage and cost savings.

How are Six Sigma and Lean Operations synergistic?
Six Sigma and Lean Operations are used to eliminate the constraints on a business. If the constraints are long cycle times, too much inventory and too many people, then Lean Operations is the best tool to apply. If the constraint is process variation, resulting in poor customer service and quality, then Six Sigma is the tool to implement. These tools can be implemented together to achieve significant results.

How is Supply Velocity, Inc. different?
We are Implementation and Education Specialists, not traditional consultants. We do not write reports and expect our clients to conduct the implementation. We facilitate the process from planning to start-up. Additionally, we use a highly analytical and mathematical approach in our implementations.

What is a Kaizen event and why does Supply Velocity, Inc. not do this?
Kaizen events are generally one week blitzes, or accelerated implementations. We do not believe Kaizen is the proper method for initially implementing process improvement. We follow a systematic, mathematical approach to Lean implementation. Rushing to complete an implementation within a week increases the likelihood that you will overlook items, fail to analyze critical data or simply make a mistake. In addition, Kaizen events usually do not take on a very large or meaningful scope that justifies an investment in Supply Velocity, Inc.