This Easter, we’re thinking about the ending to the Roald Dahl’s classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – and where it might have gone next.
At the end of the book, Charlie has recently taken ownership of the chocolate factory, with his grandfather and parents acting as advisors. Being new to the business, what should Charlie have done next?
Like Charlie, some of our clients are business owners who have recently acquired a new company or facility and are looking for support to ensure they waste no time in maximising value and profitability. That’s where Indicatura comes in.
Our first order of business with Charlie and his chocolate factory would be to find Charlie’s goals for the business, both in the short-term and the long-term. In the long-term, this could be maximising the factory’s profits, or it could be expanding to buying or building more factories around the world. It could even be securing a greater market share, ensuring Charlie’s brand is the most popular brand of chocolate worldwide.
While the long-term goals are the ultimate prize, the short-term goals are important too – not only are they crucial for measuring a business’s success, but they also ensure short-term success while creating opportunities for returns in the long run.
In the short-term, we might suggest that Charlie focuses on meeting the Easter demand – and to do that he would need a strategy. If the factory needed to produce a million bars of chocolate by Easter – which is three weeks away – then Charlie would need to understand what is required to meet that goal.
For example, Charlie would need to understand how many chocolate bars could be produced in one day, what machines are used in the process, the raw ingredients required, and how many employees are necessary for production, along with the costs and financial implications for all of these factors. He would also need to understand how reliable the machines are – how likely are they to break down, what impact on production is this likely to have, and how quickly can they be repaired?
At Indicatura, we do more than ask those difficult questions – we answer them, using our proprietary in-house methodology, KBEE®. Charlie’s factory has the benefit of plenty of departments, with the reports and data necessary to find the information he needs. We connect those dots for Charlie, forming a link between finance and operations and developing a strategy to help Charlie find the most cost-effective way to meet his short-term goals.
And while we were doing that, we’d develop another strategy – this time to cover Charlie’s long-term goals, allowing him to make those critical decisions early and reduce his costs and risks simultaneously.
Are you taking control of a new business, investment opportunity or asset? Get in touch with Indicatura for industry-leading support on maximising profits, reducing costs and effectively managing risk.
