The financial services industry, in particular the banking sector faces extraordinary challenges. Those that have survived the carnage of the financial crisis that began in late 2008, are trying to adjust to a global environment of regulation, consumer advocacy and government intervention.

The changes in the regulatory environment are some of the most challenging aspects of this “new normal” in the financial services industry. Financial services executives are faced with a more difficult regulatory compliance environment and with a level of uncertainty as to the impact of the recently passed Financial Regulation bill in the US and the BASEL III requirements. Most likely, banks and insurance companies will be faced with an environment of increase compliance, more government oversight, increased capital reserve requirement and increased focused on risk management for their organizations. Firms will have to re-engineer their strategies, systems and processes, key performance indicators and monitoring systems to prosper in this environment and to clearly communicate with board, shareholders and regulators.

Representative Services provided in the industry:

• Strategic Services Development
• Founding and Funding Activities
• Service as Interim Officers & Executives
• Capacity Planning
• Business Intelligence
• Strategic Project Assurance
• Product Development
• Risk Management
• Program ⁄ Project Management
• Strategic IT Systems design and management
• Governance & Regulatory Compliance

Companies in the manufacturing sector are making strategic acquisitions to achieve growth and leverage their capital investments in

plant and equipment. A significant challenge for these companies is how to achieve manufacturing performance excellence and translate that excellence into acquisitions.

Systems and process for Lean manufacturing and for achieving a cost-effective Supply Chain are critical to these companies. Methods to define and measure key performance indicators will be key to understanding performance, supply chain and working capital issues on a consistent and regular basis as to allow these companies to make adjustments and changes in their strategy and operations as market conditions change.

Obtaining and retaining sufficient talent to sustain growth and expansion is also fundamental for companies in this industry. Issues related to tax strategy, commodity risks and financial strategy are also key challenges. Innovation in technology to support more effective manufacturing and other operational processes should be a focus. Finally, a strategy around global and local pressure related to carbon emissions will continue to be important to manufacturing companies.

Representative Services provided in the industry

• Supply Chain Transformation
• Working Capital Optimization
• Performance Management and KPIs
• Business Intelligence
• Strategic Project Management & Assurance
• Technology Assessment
• Global Structuring
• Sourcing Strategy
• Strategy and Governance

Technology companies will be challenged in the coming decades with strategies to leverage the growing influence of emerging markets and doing so with an optimized cost and working capital structure. Managing cost while expanding globally would be key for technology companies.

Establishing partnerships and collaborative relationship will also be critical to expansion but will require clear strategy, due diligence and a well developed risk management processes.

Protecting and enhancing revenue strategies that take into account partnership opportunities, in-country risks and an effective tax strategy will also be necessary expansion elements for technology companies.

Opportunities for mergers and acquisitions will be tempting to many technology companies that are in strong financial footing. However, much more than financial strength is necessary to achieve often unrealistically optimistic acquisition objectives. Operational discipline, executive expertise and a robust due diligence process are required to take advantage of acquisition opportunities.

Representative Services provided in the industry

• Strategic Services Development
• Enterprise Portfolio Management Organization
• Risk Management
• Due Diligence
• Business Operations Assessment
• IT Strategic Outsourcing
• Business Intelligence
• Enterprise Resource Planning
• Enterprise Initiatives Review
• Security Planning
• IT Systems Assessment
• Strategic Project Assurance
• Strategic IT Systems design
• Program/Project Management

The Retail and Consumer-packaged goods industry is experiencing an increasingly challenging environment. The global economic conditions require that these companies become more agile, adaptable and technology/fact based driven. Increasing productivity, efficiency of the supply chain, accurate forecasting, demand planning and inventory management are absolutely necessary for these companies to survive and prosper. Working capital optimization and a stronger F&A (financial and accounting) function is fundamental to support operations and growth.

Competitive advantage in the industry will be largely driven by increases in productivity and removal of costs from operations while embracing high levels of customer service.

From RFID, to inventory/category management, forecasting and demand planning, strategic sourcing, collaborative technologies and others; technology and innovation are an important and essential element of competitive advantage.

Finally, understanding consumer trends, purchasing power locally and globally and being able to develop and maintain a feedback mechanism with consumers is a key strategic ingredient for companies in this industry.

Representative Services provided in the industry

• Store Operations Improvement
• Merchandising
• Inventory Optimization
• Forecasting & Demand Planning
• Supply Chain
• Transportation
• Working Capital Optimization
• Program/Project Management
• Business Operations Assessment
• Strategic Sourcing
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Carve-Outs
• Sales & Operations Planning

There is a revolution in care and that is having an impact on large established healthcare organizations and Life Sciences companies. The new healthcare bill (ACA) passed by Congress in 2010 and current changes to the ACA will have wide and deep ramifications to companies in the Healthcare and Life Sciences space. Current trends in the space reflect increase in costs and an environment where the government may be much more involved in the delivery of healthcare and in the regulatory process for approving new drugs and medical devices will have a significant impact on the companies in the space and on the pace and type of new discoveries..

Demographic changes in the US and in the developed world in general reflect an aging population that will place increasing demands on life-extending drugs, medical devices to address this aging population needs and technology and processes to deliver care and services. New infrastructure and technologies that support the delivery of services and products to the market will be emphasized not only because of an increasingly aging population but because of the demands on cost reduction, government involvement and profit margin pressures.

A drive towards “personalized” medicine will accelerate with tools and processes that match the best treatment to a particular patient increasingly taking center stage. This drive will have a substantial impact on the manner in which companies currently conduct their Research and Development activities, how costs are accounted for and allocated and risk management and performance monitoring process and technologies.

Representative Services provided in the industry: 

• Cost Benefit an Financial Analysis
• Program/Project Management
• Controlling Non-Labor Costs
• Product Line Performance
• Radiology
• Cardiology
• Surgery
• Supply Chain Optimization
• Procurement Optimization
• Direct
• Indirect
• Working Capital Optimization

Federal and state governments are being challenged to do more with less. The federal budget has substantially increased in the last decade as well as unfunded Medicare and Social Security Liabilities.

State governments also face a number of significant and continuing challenges from budget deficits to runaway Medicaid costs to increasingly important infrastructure issues. The next few years would be very difficult as state government face greater deficits and reduced revenue.

Demographic changes such as an aging population, impact of undocumented workers, public pension liabilities, demand for better education and health care costs are putting increasing pressure on state and local governments.

As debates over regulation, government spending, and welfare reform all demonstrate, the proper role of government in the nation’s economy remains a hot topic for debate more than 200 years after the United States became an independent nation.

It is now more important than ever to adequately address issues such as adequate levels of governance, effective use of technology, effective program and project management, establishment of risk management practices, business intelligence and strategy development.

Representative Services provided in the industry

• Performance Audits
• Strategy and Governance
• Business Intelligence
• Strategic Project Assurance
• Financial Reporting and Facilitation Services
• Program ⁄ Project Management
• Risk Management
• Strategic IT Systems design and management
• Vendor Management
• Program Design
• Public/Private Partnership

The Aerospace & Defense industry’s challenges include a requirement for continuous improvement in operating performance coupled with an environment of increase regulations and rigorous financial requirements.

Information technology and lean transformation processes are key elements of a successful strategy for companies in this industry. An effective and transparent Supply Chain, optimized Working Capital requirements, appropriate key performance indicators and an effective Business Intelligence function are also crucial operational components.

The industry is highly concentrated: the 20 largest companies account for about 90 percent of industry revenue. Many companies work primarily as subcontractors to the five largest manufacturers and thus there is a significant “tiering” in the delivery of services and products in the industry. This characteristic increases the requirements for effective operations and collaboration in the industry.

Representative Services provided in the industry

• Supply Chain Transformation
• Working Capital Optimization
• Performance Management and KPIs
• Business Intelligence
• Strategic Project Management & Assurance
• Technology Assessment
• Strategy & Marketing
• Financial Reporting & Management
• Program Management

Our Business Operations Assessment Framework, pictured below, illustrates our highly evolved and proven method for discovering high-value improvements in any business. For example, any of the following goals could be achieved using our framework:

• Determine the strategy positive projects to approve for the coming budget year
• Determine what projects to drop from an overcrowded portfolio
• Determine where to focus strategic or tactical spend
• For an in-coming executive, find out what no one is going to tell you
• Find out if the acquisition you are looking at will pay off as expected
• Discover why an operating unit’s financial performance is degrading and what to do to turn it around
• Figure out who your key players are on the team… they may not be who you think they are…
• Find out if cultural issues are standing in the way of growth, agility and performance and what you can do about them
• Discover if and how regulatory compliance controls are being circumvented
• Determine if your organization should be restructured for leaner and more efficient operations

High Performance Organizations are very agile in recognizing and prioritizing areas that require improvement and that are misaligned with market conditions or corporate strategy. The ability to “zoom in” to these gaps is vital to an organization’s prioritization and resource allocation in driving higher levels of performance. Our Business Operations Assessment (BOA) provides a framework and implementation mechanism to focus on the right areas by identifying, tackling and measuring the most pressing issues within the organization.

You get the idea that there is a lot more underneath the covers of the Framework. The important thing to remember for our first discussion is that Phase I provides a low-cost foundation for achieving any of the goals mentioned.

Why use a consulting firm to assist with change management? Because change management is not a core competency of your staff. If your organization was constantly in a state of upheaval they probably would become pretty competent but that’s certainly not what you want.

Change Management is required to transition from one state to another and then stability and performance is achieved once again. An experienced temporary consulting resource is an excellent way to avoid the pitfalls illustrated in the picture below.

Representative events when change management is usually needed –

• Integrating departments post-acquisition
• Adopting shared services, outsourced or off-shored operating models
• Installing a new ERP system
• Creating or implementing a controls transformation program
• Redesigning Financial or Operational processes
• Implementing or improving new cross-functional processes
• Converting financial reporting systems
• Supply chain changes
• Operations performance improvement
• Restructuring functions and departments

One of the cornerstones of our Financial Efficiency offering is a focus on Working Capital. Today, the financial climate and the state of the global markets mean that working capital is significantly more expensive than in the last decade. The good news is that, depending upon your industry, you could have 10% – 30% latent working capital in your business. Identifying and freeing latent working capital for re-use as a dividend, project funding source, acquisition source, diversification source, etc. is our specialty.

In addition to working capital which focuses performance on process improvement, we have a robust practice in identifying under-performing assets that you may have in your portfolio.

We’d like to talk to you about your financial performance objectives. In many cases, we will be able to provide you with a pro bono peer analysis indicating how your company stacks up against its market peers not only in key components of Working Capital, but along over 20 key performance indicators.

The focus of our information technology offerings is to work with the IT functions within the organization to accomplish the following:

Lower the cost of services by restructuring policies, procedures and organization structures

Design lean processes that appropriately and flexibly serve business needs

Source goods and services externally in cost effective, measureable and enforceable ways

Vet, manage and deliver high value strategy positive information processing and reporting capabilities

Our service offerings include the following areas:

Project and Program Management

Perlinski & Company has a history of on-time and on-budget delivery of local projects and global programs. Throughout the 1990’s we invested heavily in developing proprietary project management overlays that are harmonious with all current project management methodologies. Comments from project managers who we have trained in our methods usually echo one veteran’s remark that “I’ve never felt so totally in control of a project before.”

Portfolio Management

Quite simply, we work with you to ensure that you are doing the right projects with measurable results to support the business. CIOs typically control large budgets and are the first to be scrutinized when capital is tight and cuts are required. We work with the CIO’s organization to integrate with the business in a closed loop process so that collaboration replaces finger pointing.

IT Strategy

We can support the CIO directly through direct development or refinement of various key strategies:

• IT Governance
• IT Process Optimization
• IT Sourcing Strategy
• IT Data Strategy
• IT Change Management Strategy

Business Intelligence

A single version of the truth for everyone in the organization, especially your executive team is the Holy Grail. But finding the right data, the right analysis and the right (and appropriate) presentation can be a daunting task. Most likely, your staff does not do this work frequently and your technology provider doesn’t know your business. Perlinski & Company can help you realize the vision by providing the in depth skills required for success.

ERP Upgrade, Migration or Integration

This is one of the toughest projects to tackle and realize success. When you have been through dozens of these projects, you can easily see the mistakes and pitfalls. Perlinski & Company has been called for in-flight project assurance & rescue but we would rather continue our success in full lifecycle program management and on-time and on-budget delivery for your project. We would like to assist you in supplementing your team in the areas of management, process (re)design, process integration, controls and data integrity.

RFP Process & Requirements Definition

The IT Organization typically develops or assists in developing the greatest number of Requests For Proposal in the company. Perlinski & Company can assist in two ways. First, we have experience with a large number of prime vendors. We know the issues that could cause your projects to have less than the desired results. Second, knowing what to exclude from an RFP is as valuable as knowing what to include…and what you include needs to be accurate.

Cost Analysis and Management

Internal IT costs are always concern and identifying pockets of cost take out is a difficult job that’s rarely done internally with the same rigor that an unbiased party uses. Additionally, if Total Cost of Ownership is not in your calculations, we can help you better understand your real costs.

Perlinski & Company has deep experience in project management. From our inception, we have integrated expert project management within all of our projects and engagements. In the 1990’s, we studied why complex projects fail to meet on-time and on-budget expectations. We studied a number of methodologies as well. Our findings indicated that failed interpersonal communications precipitated the failures. The result was our proprietary overlay that we use in almost all of our engagements to ensure client satisfaction.

Successful project and program management means operating within a governance framework that involves appropriate parties in the appropriate actions. Perlinski & Company’s program management governance framework is depicted in the table below: 

Perlinski & Company performs not only the “typical” project management roles of:

• Plan creation / update
• Progress reporting
• Stakeholder communications
• Scope management
• Issues management and escalation
• Risk management and contingency planning
• Public relations
• Milestones definition and management
• Financial management
• Budget vs Actual tracking & reporting

But also integrates:

• Stakeholder buy-in
• Sponsor specific communications and reporting
• Key communications and reporting protocols definition and enforcement
• Knowledge transfer tasks as required
• Change management tasks as required

At Perlinski & Company, we believe that the core of any company is the ability for its executives and employees to work in concert to efficiently deliver its product or service to its customer.

In order to achieve this goal and have a strong core, alignment and commitment are required at all levels. The way to achieve alignment and commitment is through communications. Over the last two decades, a great deal of study has gone into the benefits of highly structuring the detailed communications required to optimize a company across all functions. The result of these studies has become the modern Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process.

A survey, published by Aberdeen Group (2005), indicated that best in class companies reported 12.5% higher % gross margin than industry norm, and 23% higher than those with less integrated and focused S&OP practices. For a company with $500 million in annual revenue, this difference amounts to $60 million in annual gross margin versus the average company, and $115 million versus the laggards.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is there a clear link between the business plan and the operations of each department?
• Do you have an effective means of orchestrating all departments towards the same targets?
• Does your planning process yield a realistic plan capable of achieving the company’s objectives?
• Are decisions ever made in Operations, Marketing, Finance, Sales, Service or Product Development that surprise other organizations?
• Do your detailed operating plans and projects clearly support a master game plan?
• Do you have one set of numbers visible to all?
• Do you have balance in supply and demand while maintaining focus on P&L?
• Do you typically discuss

To ensure alignment between sales and operations, Perlinski & Company has authored best practices around the integration of these core capabilities within an organization as depicted below to achieve a an effective S&OP practice.

When you think of strategy, what is it that you think of? Perhaps it’s inspirational or aspirational goals that the executive team updates every so often. Perhaps it is the 1-2 months of meetings you attend each year in the annual operating plan and budgeting cycle. Perhaps it is choosing the next acquisition or outsmarting the competition.

Perlinski & Company believes that “strategy” is a complex mix of all of those things and more as shown in the picture below.

But the most important part of your strategy is ensuring that every person, project and activity in your business can be validated as contributing to its achievement. Why waste precious time, money and resources that don’t contribute to the vision of success that you have all agreed upon? Yet this is exactly what happens in many companies.

Our offerings focus on drawing the “golden thread” of business strategy down into the fabric of your company in a defined and measurable way such that each employee knows how every activity and project throughout the year directly contributes to the company reaching its strategic goals.

Successful strategy must consider the progression of the vision and market opportunity to the focus in operationalizing that opportunity into an executable Operations Plan that serves as a framework for decision making and aligning the organization around this framework.

Structuring. So many firms call it “re-structuring”, but at Perlinski & Company, we feel that that’s a misnomer. Your company is constantly changing… people, offices, customers, market pressures… nothing is the same for long.

Each function in your company was structured correctly for the time and conditions it operated in. But with changing conditions, organizations need to be structured appropriately to meet the current and anticipated market demands.

Our structuring practice looks at each function in totality. Our survey of incoming and outgoing services, transactions and activities is comprehensive. Yet we are always practical. Because we have been privileged to work with many high-performance organizations in a variety of industries, we have insights into “how others” have addressed the growth or contraction of their operating functions.

The picture below provides an example of one of our deliverables. Our approach is meant to give you and your executive team options and useful and practical information for structuring necessary functions and processes that fit your current and projected needs.

The purpose of these performance audits is to provide the states with an independent audit process aimed at assessing the effectiveness, efficiency and economic value of the Public Entity in meeting its mission. Additionally, performance audits look at the entity’s structure, employee skills, leadership and cultural aspects, processes and procedures, compliance with best practices and supporting technology and business intelligence. These audits also include a review of interactions with internal and external customers, internal and external metrics and performance under those metrics. In many cases comparative analysis and financial models may be required.

It is the intent of the performance audits, therefore, to help in holding implementers of Government programs accountable for the economic, efficient and effective discharge of programs. This may promote better public service delivery while enhancing public accountability and management.

Why Us?

• Expertise in complex performance audits, compliance reviews, management assessments and reviews and organizational and staffing studies. Our Performance Audits clearly show the extensive depth and breadth of our experience on delivering an insightful, accurate and effective reporting in a wide variety of engagement types.
• Experience working with public agencies. We have worked with Federal and State government agencies. In fact, our principals participated in multiple performance audit engagements for the State of Utah.
• Knowledge of and experience in preparation of feasibility studies including analyzing strategic alternatives and implementing desired programs.
• Ability to produce a high-quality work product while working in a timely manner to meet established deadlines.
• Extensive Expertise in Structured and Unstructured Interview Techniques and Data Gathering. A successfully executed interview is a blending of art and science. In order to obtain accuracy, deep experience is required when interviewing key personnel.
• Extensive practical experience in leveraging our qualifications and certifications in Program Management, LEAN, Six Sigma and Agile for organizations of all sizes.
• Extensive practical expertise in financial accounting and in data mining. These skills are key in understanding the “truth” about operational and financial performance and in implementing business intelligence that can be used for continuous improvement.
• Process Engineering Expertise. Perlinski & Company has deep and recent expertise in reengineering business processes by using an interview / workshop format. We also bring to this process lean six sigma tools and deep information technology expertise.
• Change Management. Successful and enduring change management involves realigning values and incentives. As mentioned earlier, understanding human behavior and how to create positive change that meets the goals of the program and the organization is a core competency of Perlinski & Company.
• Communications with internal and external stakeholders. Communications is a critical component of what we do in every project. Perlinski & Company has extensive expertise developing and implementing comprehensive communication plans in large project settings with multiple and varied stakeholders in both the public and private sectors.