Process consulting for operations and finance teams

Process consulting is the part that happens before anyone buys software or rewrites a procedure. We watch how work actually moves, measure it, and tell you where the time and money go.

What process consulting covers

Most teams describe their process the way it was designed, not the way it runs. The invoice policy says three steps; in practice there are seven, two inboxes and a spreadsheet someone keeps on their desktop. Our job is to find the version that really runs and write it down.

That means sitting with the people who do the work, reading a sample of real cases from start to finish, and pulling timestamps from whatever systems you have. We are not auditing people. We are looking for the places where work waits, comes back, or gets typed in twice.

How an engagement runs

1. Scoping call (30 minutes). One process, one owner, one question you want answered. If the question is too broad we narrow it together.
2. Walkthroughs. Short sessions with each role in the process. We ask people to show us a real case on screen rather than describe it from memory.
3. Measurement. Cycle time, touch time, volume, rework rate. Where no data exists we sample 30 to 50 cases by hand. See the three numbers every process needs.
4. Mapping. A swimlane map of the process as it runs, including the exceptions and loops that never appear in the official version. Mapping is not the same as automating, and we keep the two separate.
5. Findings session. We walk your team through the map and the numbers, and they correct us. Roughly one fact in ten is wrong at this stage, which is why we do it.
6. Recommendation. A ranked list of changes with estimated effort and time saved for each, and a plain statement of what we would leave alone.

What you receive

• A current-state swimlane map and a one-page summary of cycle time, waiting time and rework.
• A role and handoff table: who does what, in which system, and what they need to start.
• A ranked improvement list. Some items need no software at all.
• A process manual or SOP draft for the version you decide to keep. See how we optimise SOPs.

Who it suits

Teams of 5 to 200 people where one process has become a source of complaints: late invoices, slow onboarding, leads that go cold, customers chasing for updates. It also suits owners who suspect a process is costing more than it should but cannot show where.

When it is the wrong thing to buy

If you already know what is broken and only need it built, go straight to process automation. If the process changes every month, fix that first; mapping something that keeps moving produces a document that is out of date on delivery.

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