[ FAQS ]
A business process is a series of steps designed to produce a product or service. Some may be contained wholly within a function; most, however, are cross-functional, spanning the "white space" between the boxes on the organization chart. In that sense, a process can be seen as a value chain — by contributing to the creation or delivery of a product or service, each step in a process should add value to the preceding steps.
Processes that result in an output received by an external customer are called primary processes. Processes whose outputs are invisible to the external customer but essential to the management of the business are called support processes. Management processes include actions managers should take to support the business processes. We sometimes use the term "core process" to describe a group of processes that are part of an organization's core competency or competitive advantage.
We believe that managers should concentrate as much or more on the flow of products, paper and information between departments as on the activities within departments. Process Management provides a methodology for managing this white space between the boxes on the organization chart.
An organization is only as effective as its processes. Logical, concrete business processes are at the heart of any business's ability to meet its goals. A company can take a variety of steps to improve performance, but even the most talented and motivated people can improve that performance only to the degree that business processes will allow.
RFID is a method of identifying unique items using radio waves. Typically, a reader communicates with a tag, which holds digital information in a microchip. However, there are chipless forms of RFID tags that use material to reflect back a portion of the radio waves beamed at them. At Trivalent Solutions, our RFID solutions are designed expressly to help manufacturers, distributors and service organizations select, implement and integrate RFID into their supply chains — seamlessly and successfully. For more RFID FAQs, click here.
Our engagements typically involve two to three consultants for a period of two to three months. The smallest engagements we perform are one week assessments; the longest engagements are nine to 12-month ERP implementations.
We use a project-fee pricing model that details a specific price range to perform an engagement and provide a set of agreed upon deliverables. The upper limit of the price range is a not-to-exceed (NTE) number. A client will never be charged beyond the NTE estimate for any project; we assume the risk for underestimating the amount of consulting time required to complete the deliverables. A project does not end until all of the deliverables are met.
Although the terms are often used interchangeably, we believe that they are dramatically different. Process reengineering, as defined by its developers — Michael Hammer, et al — requires that the current process be essentially ignored. The "should be" process is essentially started from scratch without the constraints of its predecessor process. For that reason, process reengineering is often used as a euphemism for downsizing. By contrast, process improvement recognizes that significant business constraints affect decisions in the development of the "should be" process. Process improvement attempts to evaluate what is working well in the current process and improve what is not. Process improvement, therefore, is inherently less radical than process reengineering.
Trivalent Solutions was founded as an alternative to the Big Four consulting firms in its approach to consulting engagements. We realize that clients need problem-solving resources that are unique to them, not template solutions based on the latest methodologies. The Big Four approach emphasizes the strength of their methodologies, which can be and often are delivered by junior staffers. Trivalent Solutions realizes your business is more complex than that. The strength of our approach is the flexibility you derive from working with senior, experienced professionals who understand that approaches and methodologies must be tailored to specific situations. Listen to their people then listen to our people, ask the deep questions and then make your decision.
Our consultants have a minimum of 12 years experience in manufacturing, distribution and financial organizations. These individuals have attained executive level positions in private and publicly traded companies. We do not employ recent college graduates, junior staffers or dedicated sales people in our organization. Our goal is to make sure that the employees who assisted a potential client through the sales cycle are the same individuals who perform the work required for the engagement. For that reason, the promises we make always match the results we deliver.
Well-planned and implemented process improvements have a strong track record of high-level of results. When results fall short of expectations, it is usually attributable to poor methodologies, inadequate project management or poor execution. Trivalent Solutions believes in its ability to deliver results — and we stake our fees on that belief.
Organizations focusing on department or functional territories often overlook the only critical requirement for success — the customer. By contrast, a process-driven organization views all value-added activities for their ability to achieve customer satisfaction. When working with a client, we at Trivalent Solutions constantly ask ourselves, "Is this process step adding value that will be perceived by the customer?"
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