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Strategic Business Planning
Strategic Business Planning is about shaping the future of the company. It is about creating a path to drive business development and positive growth by defining short-, mid- and long-term goals. But success is dependent upon transforming goals into results.
EWA’s Strategic Business Planning services have all been developed upon the belief that creating a successful future for any company requires 2 core elements:
- Defined vision (a strategic plan)
- Structured implementation (an operational plan)
SERVICES
- Global Expansion
- Corporate Vision
- Brand Development
- Portfolio Management
- Sales Channel Development
- Market Entry
- Business & Financial Planning
- Mergers & Acquisitions
Manufacturing Footprint Optimization
In its simplest terms, optimizing a manufacturing footprint refers to examining the quantity and geographic dispersion of an organization’s facilities, then adjusting their number and location to reduce duplication, inefficiency or overlap.
EWA’s Manufacturing Footprint Optimization services are dedicated to helping organizations reduce cost, improve operating efficiency, tap talent across the organizational spectrum, create more nimble positions in key geographies and increase strategic flexibility – to making it easier for companies to respond to changing market conditions and better plan/shape the future of the company.
SERVICES
- Manufacturing Footprint Assessment
- Manufacturing Footprint Strategy Development
- Global Expansion
- Contract Manufacturing
- Outsourced Assembly
- Location Strategy Development
- Site Selection
- Plant Rationalization & Factory Consolidation
- Implementation Management
- Plant Construction
- Plant Relocation
- Plant Closure
Supply Chain Optimization
The supply chain is one of the most powerful influencers of company profitability and is often referred to as an integral part of a company’s DNA. The supply chain impacts virtually every aspect of business:
- Production process (from raw materials – to production of a finished product – to delivery to the end customer)
- External partners (channel partners, 3rd party service providers & customers)
- Internal departments (sales, marketing, product design, finance & information technology)
EWA believes that Supply Chain Optimization is about creating long-term financial stability. EWA Supply Chain Optimization services have been developed to look beyond the quick-fix – to help companies drive sustainable performance.
SERVICES
- Supply Chain Assessment
- Make vs. Buy Strategy
- Supplier Performance Improvement
- Supplier Identification & Qualification
- Alternative Global Sourcing
- Quality Standards Development
- Covert & Overt Supplier Investigations
- Logistics Strategy Development
- Logistics Network Optimization
- 3PL Added Value Services
- Set Up & Operate Sourcing Office
Performance Improvement
All best-in-class companies have processes in place to continuously monitor and improve their performance in all areas. “Continuous Improvement” is a hallmark of ISO compliant companies and involves a set of Quality Processes and teams of people organized to find opportunities to improve both manufacturing and administrative effectiveness and efficiencies, institutionalize those improvements and to continually measure results.
However, the path to continuous improvement requires constant attention and even the most well-run companies can find themselves in acute situations where factors emerge that jeopardize company viability – competitive issues, loss of sales, cash flow issues, drops in efficiency and on-time deliveries or upticks in quality problems, inventory piling up between operations, plant-keeping issues or an unmotivated workforce. Haphazard growth can also contribute to inefficiencies.
In these cases, it is often beneficial to take a critical and unbiased look at the overall company from a commercial, operational and risk perspectives in order to seek opportunities to streamline, increase efficiencies and to reduce waste. East West Associates (“EWA”) conducts such analyses in conjunction with internal teams as the first step towards identifying and prioritizing opportunities and, in turn, developing and implementing mitigating strategies. Many tactics are available depending on company factors, the scope of the problems, and the amount of time available before the organization collapses. EWA provides consulting executives with the detailed planning and proven implementation management expertise to guide the organization back to a success path.
SERVICES
- Viability Analysis
- Company Turnaround
- Corporate Renewal
- Process Optimization
- Global Expansion
- Customer Base Expansion
- Growth Development
Human Resources and Executive Recruiting
The success of a company in not about bricks and mortar, machines and capital alone. Success rests on a foundation of effective and engaged people, how they interface with each other and the business systems established to support them in their daily work. There is ample research that supports the strong correlation between employee engagement, support and development systems and profitability.
EWA’s HR service offerings are grounded in over 50 years of successful HR and Talent Management experience in international corporations and directed at helping shape our clients’ futures. We provide assistance along the entire employee life cycle beginning with establishing job requirements, designing organization structures, recruiting full-time and interim executives, assessing potential, constructing development plans and activities and improving interdepartmental cooperation, as examples.
SERVICES
- Interim General Management
- Executive Search
- Organizational Assessment
- Organizational Development
- Organizational Design
- Talent Management
- Employee Relations
- Executive Coaching
- Employee Engagement
- Employee Retention
- Compensation & Benefits
Risk Management
Risk Management is about reducing threats to company profitability:
- Uncovering hidden vulnerabilities
- Protecting company assets
Threats to company profitability come in a variety of shapes and forms and there is no one standard corrective solution. And while threats to company profits can never be completely eliminated, risk can be combated.
EWA operates on the principle that comprehensive risk management begins with an in-depth, deep dive investigation of all potential areas of risk followed by the development and implementation of 360° risk mitigation safeguards.
SERVICES
- Risk Identification
- Company Internal Risk Audit
- Investigative Services (Fraud, Theft, Corruption, Conflicts of Interest, Misappropriation of IP, etc.)
- Covert & Overt Investigations (Suppliers, Employees, Business Partners, M&A Targets, etc.)
- Risk Mitigation
- Information & Data Protection
- Inventory Control
- Employee Theft & Embezzlement Prevention
- Procurement Monitoring
- Quality Control Safeguards
- Plant Security
- Integrity Awareness Training
- Crisis Management Planning
M&A Due Diligence
While every company is a singular entity, company performance is based upon the interaction with others. Choosing a partner is easy but choosing the right partner requires detailed planning and confirmed confidence. A decision with a direct impact upon company profitability.
EWA believes that the key to success is a thorough understanding of your potential acquisition, however in addition to the traditional sense of due diligence of financial and legal concerns, we focus on area’s such as operational expertise and confirmation of manufacturing methodology, risk management as it pertains to senior executives and potential fraud issues, identification and verification of assets, thorough understanding of 3rd party partners/suppliers and their ownership structure and review and confirmation of stated commercial breadth in area’s such as distribution, brand awareness, product/company reputation.
SERVICES
- Operations
- Business Partners
- Licensees
- Suppliers
- Distributors
- Customers
- Markets
Business Assessment
In a recent survey of global companies, 69% of company leaders claimed that did not feel that they had full visibility over their global operations and were therefore, exposed to hidden threats to company stability and/or were not fully leveraging company opportunities – in short, they were not fully able to drive company performance to its maximum potential.
The EWA Business Assessment services focus on exploring company operations and are designed to enable companies to identify both hidden threats and unleveraged opportunities within the organization.
SERVICES
- Commercial Assessment (Sales, Marketing, Product, Channels, Competitive Environment, etc.)
- Operational Assessment (Manufacturing, Internal Operations, Administration, Materials, Workflow, etc.)
- Risk Assessment (Corporate Governance Compliance, IP Security, I/T Security, Physical Asset Security, Environmental Risk, Fraud, Corruption, Employee Theft, Labor Unrest, etc.)
- Organizational Assessment (Interpersonal & Interdepartmental Workings)
- Supplier Assessment (Visibility of Tier 2 & Tier3 suppliers)
Research Services
Conducting research in a global environment is not as easy as some may think. In order to be successful, one cannot overlook or undervalue the importance of the local culture: what you should ask, what you can ask, how you should ask it, how to understand the answer, how to access the information, how to navigate behind the scenes, etc.
The EWA Research Services focus on external influencers to company performance. The objective is to expand senior management’s perspective – to look beyond the factory walls or global headquarters offices. The EWA Research Services were developed upon the belief that the foundation for successful business planning and corporate decision-making is a clear understanding of the potential risks and opportunities.
SERVICES
- Growth Potential (company, market, industry, new verticals expansion, etc.)
- Voice of Customer
- Regulatory Landscape
- Competitor Intelligence
- Supply Chain & Distribution
- Labor Force (demographics, supply, compensation, etc.)