Alexander Niemeyer And Bruce Simpson

Freeing up cash from operations

In 1999, a major North American company with 80 regionally-oriented divisions launched an effort to enhance its operational effectiveness. Pilot programmes in select markets achieved 10 to 15 per cent cost reductions, while increasing sales by more than 15 per cent. On the heels of this success, the company trained more than 25 'change agents' to roll out the programmes.