Challenge:
We were hired by a car dealership to look at the effectiveness of their back office processes, assess their space utilization, determine if they should scan years worth of past paperwork, and to outline the steps necessary to prepare them for expansion. Management was looking to improve employee/team productivity and position the company for growth.

Solution:
By interviewing and observing the workflow of the back office team and by speaking with key management personnel we were able to recommend a plan of action to address all their goals. Since their older paperwork (past one year) was rarely retrieved and they did not have space issues I did not recommend taking the time to scan past records. We did, however, recommend additional functionality and features they should investigate in their existing industry-specific software that would position them well for future expansion and begin to leverage technology to create digital versions of their documents going forward.

We also provided recommendations to their sales process to improve cash flow and provide the highest level of customer service. We did this by modifying their sales script to capture all critical client information before the customer walked out the door. This eliminated delays in processing sales transactions, and ensured there was no need to trouble the client after the initial transaction.

Results:
Here is what the CFO had to say.

“Jan was not only able to look at the detailed aspects of our work and identify productivity opportunities for individuals, but she also gained an understanding of the entire work flow and provided recommended changes that will increase alignment, efficiency, and effectiveness across the organization. She has excellent evaluation skills and is able to work successfully both at the executive and line level. By adding a level of accountability with goal setting and tracking achievements her approach ensures long term success.”

Jeffrey A. Lanz – Controller, Sheppard Motors

Scanning historical records can be a laborious task and there should be good business reasons to invest in that endeavor. If there is a need for a digital backup copy, there are space constraints, frequent access is required, or remote access is required, these are all good reasons that it may be worth a company’s time and money to scan.