BDC, a bank for Canadian entrepreneurs, has published a new guide entitled Create a Leaner Business, A Guide for Entrepreneurs.

In the guide, the bank advocates for companies to learn the fundamentals of operational efficiency and take action to implement changes that will allow them to transform their companies.

“Operational efficiency is about creating a leaner, agile and more profitable businesses,” they write. “Improving your operations is essential in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace where customers want more speed, convenience and quality.” 

The guide promises improved performance, stronger employee engagement and higher profits. “If you’ve never measured performance, you likely have no idea how much inefficiency has built up in your company,” they add. “The good news is that with some straightforward improvements, you can slash waste, increase productivity and reap the rewards.” 

The report describes how to build a continuous improvement cycle and identifies three critical steps, including benchmarking, identifying and eliminating waste and ongoing operational monitoring and managing. It defines waste, identifies eight common sources of waste and suggests three optimization projects, including the creation of dashboards and activities for improving supervisor performance.