The future is about organizations thinking strategically through every facet of the business. It’s the element of distilling strategy to every corner of the business. When a business is thinking strategically from ground-up, and up-downwards, there’s an immediate transformation in culture and immediate business outcomes.
When it comes to organizations that are heavily dependent of equipment such as manufacturing firms, repair and maintenance (R&M) is usually a big cost driver in the business. Some businesses approach R&M as spend that can be cut at will. Simply task the engineers to fit within a certain budget and move on to the next quarter. The problem with this strategy is that it soon comes back to bite. A poor R&M approach implies more critical failures and ultimately immature replacement of capital equipment.
The engineers too don’t help the case as they rarely think strategically about their R&M responsibilities. They tend to be detached from the overall business perspective. It’s here that a collaborative and cross-functional approach is needed for businesses to develop R&M strategies. R&M strategies would address issues are the emerging risks and opportunities in the spares market, they would look at possibilities of finding synergies in the process. Why should one organisation have valves playing the same function but from different suppliers. It would make sense to find consolidation approaches for example. It also implies having cost-leadership mindsets right at the onset of a capital investment. It would help businesses to develop visions and missions for their R&M sections. As a R&M strategist, think of thoughts around diversification when it comes to suppliers, unlocking of the VRIOs (value, rarity, imitability, and organization) when it comes to the R&M section.
It’s easier to unpack the tactical and process elements when a business has thought through from the strategic elements. Without an R&M strategy, businesses are usually hit by fire-fighting, high spares inventories, and lack of competitiveness. Businesses with an R&M strategy can expect to also use their R&M to their competitive advantage in the market. In the new world, every frontier is a possible competitive advantage. Businesses must be competitive at everything possible.