Introduction
The writer has decided to publish a series of articles
on the services that Primo Consulting provides, with a twofold objective, namely:
·
To provide clarity about the subject matter; so much
is said about certain of the fields that we cover, in such technical jargon,
that it is more confusing than anything else, and secondly
·
To indicate how the various aspects slot in with each
other.
In order to indicate how the various aspects slot in
together, the assumption is that a company wants a full ‘revision’ / revisit (a
complete check), to ensure that its business is being conducted on a sound
footing.
Note: Although the articles follow in series, it is
not to say a company must follow the full suite; we will fit in where a company
needs assistance.
Strategy Formulation
Strategy formulation is nothing more than deciding on a number of
strategic objectives that a company wishes to reach in future, in uncertain
conditions. We facilitate this process with top teams, with one precondition,
that the top team first participate in a
proper scenario planning exercise. We work closely with a world renowned
scenario planner, the reason being, that the social, economic and political
landscapes, not only of South Africa, but also of Africa and the rest of the
world, need to be analysed (because of the close inter-connectedness), and the
most plausible forecast of ‘happenings’ needs to be ‘spelled out’ so that
executive teams can realistically decide on how to achieve their strategic
objectives.
Enterprise Architecture
The next area that needs to be addressed is the
company’s enterprise architecture (that which the company consists of, and which
makes it work).
This includes the following areas that we address with
the top teams and selected SME’s (in-house subject matter experts), and which
covers the following areas:
·
Business architecture
Based on the
strategic goals decided upon, required product changes, required organisational
structures for the future, locations, and a proper SWOT analyses needs to be
established.
·
Information
architecture
A plan to ensure
where and how a company will store information so that it is secure, safe, and
easily accessible.
·
Application
architecture
A plan for
maintaining legacy applications and strategies for replacement, a plan for new
applications and their interfaces, awareness of how new technologies may impact
existing and future applications, and a plan to support the expected growth.
·
Technology architecture
Supports the
application architecture by outlining the strategic direction for brands and
types of hardware, software, etc. that will be used.
·
Security
architecture
Outlines the plan
for ensuring security of assets like database, business rules and protection of
application systems, i.e., backup, restore and recovery plans.
Notes:
·
The above is a shortened
versions of the various architectures.
·
The abovementioned
exercise would normally be carried out over a period of time, as it involves quite
a bit of research and analysis.
The Balanced
Scorecard
Once the above is in place, we at Primo follow the
Balanced Scorecard to optimise a company’s performance. As is known, the
following areas of the business are addressed:
·
Finance
A proper financial
analysis is conducted, and recommendations are made.
·
Client ratings
/needs
Apart from
obtaining client ratings of the services provided, we take care to establish
changes that a client needs, and whether a company is addressing these changing
needs. If not, we assist clients in the
next step, to do just that.
·
Innovative ability
and people development
Having detected
any shift in client needs, we assist companies to develop the necessary skill
sets to cater for such changing needs and the training and development of their
staff, accordingly
·
Business process optimisation
This is the area
where clients, whose companies having difficulties to remain competitive in an
ever changing economic environment, requires assistance. At Primo Consulting,
our consultants are experts at analysing business processes, removing all waste
factors, and designing lean processes. We make use of the Lean Six Sigma
methodology, which is based on facts and figures, and the development of a
sound business case, prior to us optimising any business process, against which
our performance can be measured.
Note: For
a more detailed description of our methodologies, kindly visit our website www.primoconsulting.co.za or send us an email to request@primioconsolting.co.za requesting more information.
