A Business Consultant with vast experience once advised me, anyone can analyse their business in simple steps. "First, learn to measure information. Then you can record it. Then you can analyse!"
In our chauffeur company we transport people from A to B so often it is easy to assume figures, costs and analysis. When DrivenByQ first interrogated the database though, what we found was startling. Not only did we see how many airport trips were completed each month but also the passenger occupancy rate, driver turnover, driver hours, customer spend, cash turnover, account turnover, in fact everything!
We recognized people carriers were expensive to operate and unnecessary for most journeys. We identified trends and income streams then used the data in seasonal promotions or for purchasing vehicles. The analysis enabled DrivenByQ to view an important issue clearly and easily – Profitability!
The database also condensed the time-intensive, non value-adding chore of invoicing. The time dropped from one hour to just three minutes for each invoice. We saved so much time and money it was astonishing. At the end of the day though, does a customer really want to pay for anything except the journey?
Monday, 10 January 2011
Friday, 7 January 2011
Chinese Whispers Vs The Database
Have you ever played Chinese Whispers? A group of people pass a message from one to another. Somebody then says out loud the final interpretation of the original message. What started as “Tell Sarah the Fancy Dress Party is Friday but don’t wear anything scary because the theme is musical and pantomime characters” ends up as “Andrea is starring in a scary pantomime as a bus driver on Wednesday”.
On my seventh birthday my Dad bought me an Atari 400 computer with 16K of memory. This was a few years before the popular Sinclair ZX81 or the Commodore C64. Looking back it was probably one of the best things he did. To me it is second nature to pick up a computer or piece of technology and use it effectively. I‘ve used computers for years so understanding their capability and how they can solve problems is easy.
When we introduced online booking, we introduced a system where electronic data was received in a standard format. This helped enormously because we never had to transpose information again or re-invent the wheel by copying data that the customer had already created. Instead the information could flow freely from a web form to a database and all we had to do was add a price and a driver to complete the booking.
Databases are amazing. The advantages they bring are incredible. The power to search for records in an instant is mind blowing and their ability to organise information is outstanding. If you wanted to organise a conference for fifty people all travelling separately, how much faith would you really have in a one-man-band and his hand-written, scribbled diary? Especially when compared to a professional team who access central information created by the customer?
On my seventh birthday my Dad bought me an Atari 400 computer with 16K of memory. This was a few years before the popular Sinclair ZX81 or the Commodore C64. Looking back it was probably one of the best things he did. To me it is second nature to pick up a computer or piece of technology and use it effectively. I‘ve used computers for years so understanding their capability and how they can solve problems is easy.
When we introduced online booking, we introduced a system where electronic data was received in a standard format. This helped enormously because we never had to transpose information again or re-invent the wheel by copying data that the customer had already created. Instead the information could flow freely from a web form to a database and all we had to do was add a price and a driver to complete the booking.
Databases are amazing. The advantages they bring are incredible. The power to search for records in an instant is mind blowing and their ability to organise information is outstanding. If you wanted to organise a conference for fifty people all travelling separately, how much faith would you really have in a one-man-band and his hand-written, scribbled diary? Especially when compared to a professional team who access central information created by the customer?
Monday, 3 January 2011
Right First Time
When Toyota visited Ford for the first time, they witnessed defects in the manufacturing process. Ford’s solution was a rework area at the end of a production line. They employed a team of people to fix reoccurring faults.
Toyota’s solution was to make things correctly and eliminate the rework area. They called it ‘right first time’ philosophy. Toyota used root cause analysis to trace a problem to its origin. They fixed the root problem and reoccurring errors disappeared. This improved quality, required less labour and reduced costs.
Now take a taxi office copying a customer's fax in to a booking system. The fax often has information missing and the taxi office lifts the phone to request missing data - just like rework! Our solution was to replace faxes with online booking forms. These only submit if all essential data is present! Customers realised it saved them time and improved quality.
When customers also realised DrivenByQ delivered these benefits at no extra costs, what do you think happened to the volume of our work?
Toyota’s solution was to make things correctly and eliminate the rework area. They called it ‘right first time’ philosophy. Toyota used root cause analysis to trace a problem to its origin. They fixed the root problem and reoccurring errors disappeared. This improved quality, required less labour and reduced costs.
Now take a taxi office copying a customer's fax in to a booking system. The fax often has information missing and the taxi office lifts the phone to request missing data - just like rework! Our solution was to replace faxes with online booking forms. These only submit if all essential data is present! Customers realised it saved them time and improved quality.
When customers also realised DrivenByQ delivered these benefits at no extra costs, what do you think happened to the volume of our work?
Monday, 20 December 2010
The Right Gap - 1985 Style
Successful businesses often find a niche in an over crowded market. They ask what the customer wants, develop the idea and then offer something better.
Years ago, I joined a network club but the referrals didn’t cover my membership fees. One day the Regional Director visited. He asked me what was the average value of the business I received? “£90” I replied. “Hmm, what if it was £10,000” he asked? “Much better” I said.
We conversed a little more and concluded that one corporate customer was better than a hundred holiday makers. I researched the local corporate chauffeur market and found most competitors were just taxi firms still using fax machines!
They had poor administration and virtually no understanding of quality systems - let alone lean principles! It opened my eyes. Why on earth would a customer pay a supplier to maintain inefficiency and operate as if it were still 1985?
The next time I attended the network club I totally altered my sixty second pitch. I now represented a modern chauffeur company offering a reliable, quality service to the corporate market. With competitors thirty years behind the times, what else could I say?
Years ago, I joined a network club but the referrals didn’t cover my membership fees. One day the Regional Director visited. He asked me what was the average value of the business I received? “£90” I replied. “Hmm, what if it was £10,000” he asked? “Much better” I said.
We conversed a little more and concluded that one corporate customer was better than a hundred holiday makers. I researched the local corporate chauffeur market and found most competitors were just taxi firms still using fax machines!
They had poor administration and virtually no understanding of quality systems - let alone lean principles! It opened my eyes. Why on earth would a customer pay a supplier to maintain inefficiency and operate as if it were still 1985?
The next time I attended the network club I totally altered my sixty second pitch. I now represented a modern chauffeur company offering a reliable, quality service to the corporate market. With competitors thirty years behind the times, what else could I say?
Friday, 3 December 2010
The Three Golden Rules
A couple sit together in the back of a chauffeur-driven car as the driver heads for their destination. For a while they don’t speak but then they become animated and continue an argument over the TV remote control. They start to accuse each other of being unfair before one turns to the driver and asks “What do you think?”
Years ago, when I first joined the private hire industry, I was lucky to have an experienced driver take me under his wing and pass on some wisdom. Little did I know about the three golden rules of conversation? He took me to one side and said “There are three things you never talk about! Stick to these and you’ll be alright: One, don’t discuss politics. Two, don’t talk about religion and three - you don’t do domestics!!”
I took on board his advice. It proved some of the best guidance I’ve ever had. Even though a lot of people who travel with me are very inquisitive about the UK economy or which political party is in power, I am always conscious never to express an opinion or be biased in any way.
When it comes to politics or religion it is pretty straight forward to be impartial. However, when it comes to who should have the TV remote control, maybe it is better to ask where we are going again?
Years ago, when I first joined the private hire industry, I was lucky to have an experienced driver take me under his wing and pass on some wisdom. Little did I know about the three golden rules of conversation? He took me to one side and said “There are three things you never talk about! Stick to these and you’ll be alright: One, don’t discuss politics. Two, don’t talk about religion and three - you don’t do domestics!!”
I took on board his advice. It proved some of the best guidance I’ve ever had. Even though a lot of people who travel with me are very inquisitive about the UK economy or which political party is in power, I am always conscious never to express an opinion or be biased in any way.
When it comes to politics or religion it is pretty straight forward to be impartial. However, when it comes to who should have the TV remote control, maybe it is better to ask where we are going again?
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