Problem

A publisher for a B2B web site was losing business and getting complaints from their sales team.  New orders to post web site content were taking as long as 6 weeks to be processed, sometimes they were “lost”, and perhaps worst of all, some Customers were getting invoiced even when their order went unfulfilled.

Action

• Document the order processing workflow in terms of people, processes, and systems
• Create simple operational dashboards to create visibility into order processing (we used MS Excel to start off simple)
  
• Communicate a vision of the benefits based on implementing a simple continuous improvement program
• Identify and train key individuals on how to track sales orders and distribute reports.  
• Train managers on how to interpret reports and provide guidance on how to set and maintain focus on goals

Results

• In the first 6 months, order processing times were reduced by 50% with no further investments in technology or system modifications
• Multiple positions were either freed up or identified to move from “internal follow-up” to more proactive responsibilities
• Initially the MS Excel templates were intended to allow a quick start but it was thought that would not scale for more than 6 months based on order volume.  After 2-3 months, we decided that keeping a few steps manual would allow the MS Excel solution to remain in place indefinitely.