Why use a specialist consultant?

The following definition is taken from the Management Consultancy Competence Framework developed by the Institute of Business Consulting, now the Institute of Consulting.

“Management consulting involves individuals, whether self-employed or employed, using their knowledge and experience, and their analytical and problem-solving skills, to add value into a wide variety of organisations within a framework of appropriate and relevant professional standards, disciplines and ethics.”

There are many advantages in using consultants, including their expertise. Consultants are immersed in their specialism and so are well-placed to advise on the range of available and up to the minute solutions. Specialist consultants will usually be Members of relevant Professional Bodies.

Make sure you get the right consultant for your business

  • Plan – what you need the consultant to do
  • Research – find out who is out there, what their expertise is and who recommends them
  • Project Governance – be clear about who is responsible for what
  • Define the scope – this is probably the most critical activity
  • Clear specification – be very clear about what, when, how , where, who

Getting the best out of a specialist consultant

Aim for a dialogue in a sense of partnership rather than having a sharp division of labour between yourselves and the Consultant. Rather than present consultants with a tightly defined problem, it may be helpful to engage them at the problem-definition stage. They may have useful insights and strategic abilities to bring to the table.

Specialist services provided by Consult Yorkshire

Quality Assurance

The Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) in their Quality Matters Handbook says that Organisations using quality techniques can expect to be:

  • Profitable – with a healthy bottom line
  • Safe – compliant with legislation
  • Green – operating with reduced energy costs, an enhanced reputation and better placed to respond to legislation
  • Improved – continually able to find ways to do things better
  • Fit for purpose – delivers on promises, the first time, every time
  • Innovative – identifies gaps in the market
  • Productive – creates positive results and delivers up to capacity
  • Efficient – eliminates wasteful practices
  • Sustainable – will be around for many years to come.

Indeed the CQI recently commissioned some work with the CMI, that reported back in 2012 that the UK economy might benefit by around £90bn (6% GDP) if companies took on board such practices. Quality management systems exist for a diverse range of industries and sectors, but all follow the same concept of the basic ISO 9001, that is to offer a framework or a set of guidelines within which a business should operate. By clearly defining, documenting and then controlling their business processes as guided by the standard, a business can expect to take steps to remove the waste and variation across their operation and start to realise true benefits to the bottom line.

We have a number of consultants with expertise in Quality and compliance systems and processes from ISO to Ofsted, Investors in People to Merlin and Matrix.

Energy Efficiency

With the availability and supply security of carbon based fuels reducing and world consumption continually increasing, it is vital that energy is used as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The growing pressures of global warming and the introduction of strict carbon reduction targets means that organisations are being judged not only on their products and services, but increasingly on how their sustainability and green credentials measure up.

Areas that organisations should consider:

  • Metering and monitoring of fuel consumptions
  • Building fabric, insulation, heating & ventilation losses, solar gains
  • Heating/Cooling/Ventilation systems and their controls
  • Lighting systems and controls
  • Occupancy profiles and temperatures
  • Low & Zero carbon alternatives

Consult Yorkshire has consultants with years of experience in helping organisation plan and achieve very significant reductions in their energy consumption, which in turn saves them money that goes straight to the bottom line profit and improves their competitiveness.

Waste Management

Waste is an inevitable consequence of any business process or service, minimising that waste requires good management and the ability to really understand the whole business processes, analysing where things can be done with less material, in a reduced time, more efficiently and effectively to give the same or improved outputs.

Areas to be considered are:

  • Procurement – buy in bulk or as part of a buying group. Source locally if possible to reduce transportation costs and carbon impact. Consider reclaimed or surplus material sources if appropriate.
  • Resource recovery – as part of an organisation’s sustainability policy it should embed recycling into its activities, we are all aware of paper, plastic and metals being recycled, but making use of food, wood, animal or organic waste to produce your alternative energy sources is a viable consideration.
  • Space utilisation – owning or renting business space is expensive, so maximising how and when this space is used can have a dramatic impact on an organisation’s profitability. Consider overall office densities, does everyone need a dedicated desk, pc, phone, storage space? Do they spend all their time in the office or are they out seeing customers?
  • Supply chain partnerships – building strong working relationships up and down the supply chain will save money, the tendering/bidding process adds vast costs to an organisation’s overhead. Building trusting relationships and negotiating repeatable business both up and down the chain will radically improve your overall performance.
  • Utilities – Accurately measuring and managing the consumption of consumables such as electricity, gas, and water to minimise waste will give an immediate return, but reducing the occupancy temperature by just 1 degree it is possible to lower heating costs by around 8%.

Consult Yorkshire can help you put in place processes that drive the waste out of your business, helping to make it more profitable, sustainable, efficient and successful.

Supply chain and logistics

Utilising the skills and experience of Consult Yorkshire we can help design and incorporate a lean supply chain within your business. Our supply chain expertise covers the essential areas of supply chain planning and supply chain optimisation to develop effective solutions for your business incorporating aspects of Channel Design and Selection to identify your most effective route to market, Vendor Management Programmes to achieve effective and sustainable supplier relations, Procurement Best Practice to deliver optimal returns from your purchasing activities, and effective Inventory Management solutions to ensure capital and resources are utilised to optimal efficiency.

Our Logistics Management services incorporate aspects of warehousing and distribution management, resource and capacity planning, , utilising lean operational processes, or distribution network strategy can ensure your resources and assets are utilised to deliver excellent customer service with optimal efficiency.