Lean Management & HR consulting
Value. Delivered.
Inproov is a consulting firm in which every single consultant combines deep technical expertise in applied Lean Management with specialist knowledge of human resources management.
- 01Consulting
- 02Technology
Consulting
Processes and people: Lean Management and human resources management, two sides of the same coin.
Did the world need another consulting firm?
- 01
Why do Lean projects so often fail to deliver significant results, quickly, and sustain them over time?
- 02
Why do consulting firms specialise either in processes only (engineers) or in people only (psychologists)?
- 03
Why are HR initiatives so interesting, yet so often disconnected from the real, operational world?
- 04
Why does Lean put the emphasis on leadership and the scientific approach rather than on real business impact?
- 05
Why don’t HR consultants get into the detail of technical processes, and so spend so little time with operational staff in the “real work”?
- 06
Why do Lean consulting firms rely on “common sense” when it comes to people? Is it really that easy?
- 07
Why don’t Lean consultants speak the language of the income statement, the balance sheet and cash flow?
02Our foundations
Inproov was founded by a team of managers and consultants who share the enthusiasm to create something unique, built on:
- 01
Lean Management
as the reference model for significant, rapid results
- 02
Human Sciences
for engaging, sustainable transformations
- 03
Technology
as an accelerator of improvement, not an end in itself
- 04
Multidisciplinarity
of our people, to manage interactions with every stakeholder involved effectively
Multidisciplinary means effective
Lasting improvement, the kind that shapes company culture and becomes part of people’s habits, needs engineers who understand relational dynamics and HR experts who understand the logic of economics, but…
Working with people, the technical and the socio-emotional dimensions cannot be separated: both must be managed at the same time, with top management and with operational staff alike
Inproov is a consulting firm in which every single consultant combines deep technical expertise in applied Lean Management with specialist knowledge of human resources management.
Process improvement
Where process improvement shows
- Revenue
- Margins
- Cash
- Financial position
- Capital expenditure
- Customer satisfaction
- Workplace climate
Operations
- Customer service
- On-time delivery above 97%Lead time down by up to 90%
- Quality
- Defects down 20–30% a year
- Costs
- Up to 20–30% higher efficiency
- Inventory
- Up to 80% less stock
- Asset utilisation
- Up to 80–100% higher machine utilisation
- Space
- Up to 30% less floor space
Product development
- Time to Market
- Development time down by up to 50%
- Development costs
- Development costs down by up to 40%
- Cost of changes
- Cost of changes down by up to 50%
- Late projects
- Up to 60% fewer late developments
- Sales
- Sales up by 30–50%
Source: MIT
Only 10% of employees are fully engaged
- 10%
- of employees are fully engaged
- 71%
- of employees are not engaged
- 19%
- of employees are actively disengaged
Source: Gallup, Western Europe data
We motivate people
- Training
- Involvement
Social environment
(support, values, goals, beliefs, feedback)
- Communication
- Leadership
Our approach
Across three dimensionsPurposeProcessesPeople
- 01 · 1+1 days
Overview
- Stakeholders interview
- Business Overview
- Needs Collection
- Problem Framing
- Solutions Principles
- 02 · Weeks
Assessment
- Current state Analysis
- Needs Deep Analysis
- Cost/Saving Estimation
- Future State Planning
- 03 · Months
Delivery
- Team Definition & People Engagement
- Current State Detailed Analysis
- Future State Detailed Planning
- Solutions Implementation
- Change Management
Markets and processes
Markets
- 01Industrial goods
- 02Automotive
- 03Consumer goods and retail
- 04Services
- 05Healthcare
Processes
- 01Operations
- 02Supply Chain
- 03Product Development
- 04Sales & Services
- 05Quality
- 06Governance & Administration
Project examples
- Supply Chain
€50m less inventory
- Client
- metalworking sector. 9 plants worldwide. 2,000 employees. €320m turnover, €250m debt.
- Challenge
- free up financial resources to reduce debt
- What we did
- flow-based supply chain, differentiated production models, elimination of production waste. Shorter inter-company supply lead times
- Results
- fabrication WIP coverage cut from 30 days to 4 hours on 80% of volumes in 6 months. Inventory reduced by €50m at the same turnover, efficiency up 20% in 1 year
- Operations
from 4 weeks to 3 days
- Client
- rubber/plastics sector. 2 plants. €20m turnover
- Challenge
- improve customer service
- What we did
- flow production
- Results
- delivery times cut from 4 weeks to 3 days in 6 months
- Supply Chain
on-time delivery from 54% to 97%
- Client
- electronic controls business. 7 plants worldwide. 2,000 employees. €300m turnover.
- Challenge
- improve customer service
- What we did
- process-based supply chain management, redesign of the industrial blueprint, elimination of production waste
- Results
- “on-time delivery” up from 54% to 97% in 9 months
- Operations
+18% efficiency
- Client
- B2B components business. 7 plants worldwide. 2,000 employees. €350m turnover.
- Challenge
- make the Northern European plant (100 employees) competitive
- What we did
- optimised materials management, workstation redesign, operators involved in continuous improvement
- Results
- efficiency up 18%, worth €470,000 a year, in 6 months
- Sales & Services
first response within 24h in 98% of cases
- Client
- fitness equipment business. 100 employees. €85m turnover.
- Challenge
- improve the after-sales customer experience
- What we did
- definition of the Customer Care process, multi-skilled operators, waste elimination, process KPIs and continuous improvement
- Results
- first response within 24 hours in 98% of cases, problem solved within 48 hours in 90% of cases, efficiency up 80%. In 6 months.
- Operations
order fulfilment from 6 to 2 weeks
- Client
- packaging sector. 200 employees. €25m turnover.
- Challenge
- reduce order fulfilment times
- What we did
- shorter set-up times, higher product code rotation, less time spent handling customer orders
- Results
- order confirmation from 6 to 2 days, back-office efficiency +60%, order fulfilment from 6 to 2 weeks. In 1 year.
- Operations
€21m expected savings
- Client
- large-scale retail. 240 stores. €2bn turnover.
- Challenge
- reduce store costs
- What we did
- elimination of non-value-adding activities, standardisation, levelling, engagement
- Results
- +33% efficiency in shelf replenishment, +30% in the deli counter, €21m expected savings
- Supply Chain
€8m expected savings
- Client
- large-scale retail. 120 stores. €1bn turnover.
- Challenge
- reduce warehouse, transport and store costs
- What we did
- elimination of non-value-adding activities, standardisation, levelling, engagement
- Results
- +10% productivity on the shop floor and at the tills, 30% warehouse efficiency, €8m expected savings
- 01Consulting
- 02Technology
Technology
Software for operations, chosen and implemented starting from the business problem.
Technology that starts from the business
We are the only ones who, even when we talk about technology, start from an understanding of the business: we have run companies and we advise on business every day. That is why the solutions we propose create more value for our clients.
- 01
We have held business roles
Operations, supply chain, quality, finance and sales management: we know the decisions a system has to support.
- 02
We advise on the business
Strategy, economic and financial performance and lean operations: we know where value is created and where it is lost.
- 03
We implement the technology
MES, SCADA, historian, QMS and CMMS: we design, integrate and bring the solutions into operation.
- The result
More value from technology
Every project starts from KPIs, processes and financial objectives, and is measured on the results achieved, not on the go-live.
Technology solutions chosen to fit the business problem
All solutions- Quality · QMS
Virtus QMS
Quality, from a bureaucratic obligation to a competitive lever.
- Workforce management · Retail and grocery
Opera
The right hours, in the right store, at the right time.
- SCADA · Industrial Data
AVEVA System Platform & Historian
Supervision, collection and historisation of plant data on a single, scalable model.
- Manufacturing Execution
AVEVA MES
Orders, traceability and genealogy, in-line quality and OEE for structured and multi-site production.
- Composable MES · No-code
Tulip
No-code apps for the shop floor: guided instructions, data collection and a MES that grows step by step.
- Maintenance · CMMS / EAM
IFS Ultimo
Assets, preventive maintenance, spare parts and workplace safety, on desktop and mobile.