Operations analytics consulting
See where work gets stuck.
Operations analytics consulting helps companies where orders, requests or jobs pass through several teams and deadlines slip. We use the status history in your ERP, task system or spreadsheets to show how long each stage really takes, where work queues up and where extra capacity would pay off.
What our operations analytics consulting includes
Stages and questions
We map where work starts, waits and finishes, and agree with the people who run the process what counts as done, late or an exception.
Records and status history
We review your ERP, task system, database or spreadsheets and find the timestamps, owners and gaps that affect how workload is read.
Queues, workload and delays
We build reports on time per stage, open work and recurring delays, with enough context to tell a real bottleneck from a status nobody updated.
Regular reviews and changes
Each report gets an owner and a review rhythm. For every process change we agree what it should improve and how we will measure it.
What managers get
- A dictionary of process metrics and a map of where the data comes from.
- Agreed reports on cycle time, workload and exceptions.
- A routine for management reviews and a plan for measuring improvements.
Operational reporting: the questions it should answer
How long does an order really take?
Cycle time from request to completion, and the spread, not just the average that hides the worst cases.
Where does work wait?
Time in each status, split into active work and waiting for someone else.
Is the team overloaded?
Open work per team or person over time, compared with what they complete each week.
Which cases go wrong?
Rework, returns and exceptions by type, so recurring causes become visible.
Process bottleneck analysis that looks past the obvious
The stage everyone complains about is not always the constraint. Work often piles up in front of a team because the stage before releases it in batches, or because approvals wait for one person who is away twice a week.
We look at queues and waiting time over several weeks, compare them with what the team sees day to day and check that statuses are updated when work moves. Only then do we suggest a change, along with how we will measure whether it helped.
What this can look like
Orders pass through several departments, and no one can say where waiting time grows. We agree what each stage means and use status history to show queues, handovers and the tasks that need attention.
Who operations analytics is for
A good fit
- Companies where orders, requests or jobs pass through several teams and deadlines slip.
- Managers who want to see workload and delays without asking each department for an update.
- Businesses whose ERP, task system or spreadsheets record statuses with dates.
Not the right fit
- Processes with no status records at all: first the data has to be collected, see business process automation.
- Machine data and equipment control. We work with office and operational records, not industrial automation.
What affects the cost of operations analytics consulting
We quote cost and timing in EUR after a first look at your data. It depends on:
Stages and teams
A three-stage process in one team is quicker to map than orders that cross sales, planning, production and dispatch.
Status records
Clean status history with dates is ready to use; patchy records need cleaning or better data collection first.
Systems
One ERP is simpler than an ERP plus spreadsheets and a task tracker that must be combined.
Ongoing reviews
A one-off analysis or regular reports with a monthly review.
We’ll quote cost and timing in EUR after a short brief.Discuss operations analytics
Why operations reports often mislead
- Statuses updated in batches at the end of the day, so time per stage is fiction.
- Averages that hide a few orders taking weeks.
- Reports that rank people instead of showing where the process stalls.
- Different teams using the same status to mean different things.
How we go from process stages to bottlenecks
Each stage ends with something you can check before we continue.
Brief
We map the process with the people who run it and agree the stages, definitions and the questions managers need answered.
Data review
We check the records: which dates and statuses exist, where they are missing and how reliable they are.
Build and check
We build the first reports on queues, cycle time and exceptions and check them against what the team sees day to day.
Handover and review
We set up a regular review, hand over the reports and help measure the effect of the first process change.
What we need from you
Read access to the system where work is tracked (or exports), a description of the process stages, the questions managers ask most often and time with the people who handle the work.
One person on your side should know how the work runs day to day and who acts on each figure: the shift lead, the warehouse manager or the head of operations.
Operations analytics: common questions
Is this about monitoring individual employees?
No. We look at how work flows through the process: queues, waiting and handovers. Individual performance tracking is a different task, and reports built for it usually make people stop updating statuses honestly.
Can this cover manufacturing workflows?
Yes, for operational records such as orders, jobs, materials and status history. Machine control, hardware and industrial engineering are outside what we do.
What if our team only uses spreadsheets?
That’s fine to start with. We work from the records you have, show what is missing and may first help make data collection consistent before building connected reports.
Do we need new software for this?
Usually not. Reports can be built on top of your current systems. If statuses aren’t recorded at all, we suggest the smallest change that starts collecting them.
Read before you start
Short practical guides on the same subject.
- Since 2006
- Written scope before work starts
- One contact person
- Reply within 24 hours
Where does work slow down?
Describe the process, its stages and the tools where the work is tracked. We’ll reply with questions and a suggested first step.
The first conversation is free, with no obligation.