- Trends & Technology
iCon Operations Practice: driving effective processes
We draw on specialised practices in order to support our customers with even very specific issues. Alongside the Change Practice, this also includes the Operations Practice. And it has a clear mission: operational excellence. This task is currently one of increasing importance, because the effectiveness of operative processes continues to provide essential leverage for companies when maintaining a strong competitive position in the long term.
A first glimpse at an exciting field of business: Operations Practice
So what is that exactly? Lean transformation, process mining, cost cutting – I am already familiar with some of these Operations Practice terms through my previous professional experience. But through my first few exchanges with our Operations Practice team I know that there is a lot more to operational excellence than that.
Even though my role at innogy Consulting is in classic management consulting, there are often areas where my daily work intersects with that of my Operations Practice colleagues. A small workshop series then gave me the opportunity to learn more about the department. By simulating a paper snowflake crafting production chain, we learned which methods can be used to analyse and optimise simple processes. Topic-based workshops such as this not only help us understand what topics the various Practice departments cover, they also encourage a general exchange of knowledge and experience. As a result, each Practice team tries to host regular workshops where they introduce and discuss their methods, tools and current issues.
That sparked my curiosity. What do our colleagues in Operations Practice do differently from us classic strategic consultants in their daily work? I met with my colleague Julius Allwermann to find out. We started our careers at innogy Consulting together. While I started as a classic strategic and management consultant, he chose to go straight into Operations Practice.
Björn Selzer: Back then, how did you find out about the Operations Practice at innogy Consulting?
Julius Allwermann: Initial contact came through old university friends. This first insight left a lasting impression. Before I started at innogy Consulting, I had already gained some experience in operational excellence in the automotive sector. I was interested in how those principles would apply in other industries. With industry convergence the way it is, the boundaries are becoming blurred. For instance in e-mobility, where the energy and automotive sectors are coming together. It was therefore clear to me that I wanted to work in the Operations Practice at iCon.
Björn Selzer: Can you give a brief insight into what your job entails? How would you describe the role of a typical operations consultant?
Julius Allwermann: The biggest difference has to be the fundamental question underlying our work. While our colleagues in strategic consulting have to ask themselves “What do we have to do to be successful in the future?”, we have to ask ourselves “How can we work more efficiently and lower costs today?”. A classic example of an operations task is process optimisation, which involves taking a close look at every step of the value chain – from supplier to customer, known as end-to-end – and checking for possible improvements.
As a result, a typical operations consultant is very hands-on. That means they work closely with customers to understand their problem as well as possible and develop solutions that are both targeted and pragmatic
Björn Selzer: How do you ensure that the strategies you present to companies take long-term root and flourish?
Julius Allwermann: The best concept is worthless if it sits in the drawer and gathers dust. We therefore place a lot of importance on giving customers the right tools to ensure successful implementation. For instance, we help company management implement a continuous performance management system, so that projects results are maintained and anchored in daily operations in the long term when we’re no longer there to keep an eye on things. Within the team, our duties include ensuring that recurrent problems can be dealt with independently should they occur again in future. We get regular support with this from the change experts in the Change Practice team.
Björn Selzer: How successful are you in exchanging ideas with the other consulting departments? What do you pay particular attention to when working with colleagues from innogy Consulting?
Julius Allwermann: As I just said, we work closely with other Practice departments to prevent silos from forming. We also offer the other Practice teams training sessions on topics such as lean management or robotics to pass on our knowledge to colleagues from other departments. Particularly when it comes to issues around workflow automation, we coordinate closely with Digital Practice. Often, larger projects are also staffed with consultants from different Practice departments, ensuring a close network throughout our daily work.
What’s more, we always get valuable input from colleagues in other Practice teams thanks to the feedback culture of innogy Consulting. As well as regular feedback meetings with project managers, cross-Practice teams also offer a great platform for reflections on what we can do better. In this way we can learn from the experiences of our colleagues and develop ourselves further.
Björn Selzer: How do you feel about the current challenges in the energy industry?
Julius Allwermann: The energy industry is currently undergoing a major overhaul. The change from conventional to renewable energy generation is intended to happen over a very short space of time. In these dynamic times, we are trying to help individual departments form a basis of lean organisational structures and processes from which they can actively help shape the energy revolution. But I am certain of one thing: for the change to succeed, we will need the expertise of each and every Practice team.
Björn Selzer: Thank you very much for the interview and the exciting look you have given us into the Operations Practice.
We draw on specialised practices in order to support our customers with even very specific issues. Alongside the Change Practice, this also includes the Operations Practice. And it has a clear mission: operational excellence. This task is currently one of increasing importance, because the effectiveness of operative processes continues to provide essential leverage for companies when maintaining a strong competitive position in the long term.
A first glimpse at an exciting field of business: Operations Practice
So what is that exactly? Lean transformation, process mining, cost cutting – I am already familiar with some of these Operations Practice terms through my previous professional experience. But through my first few exchanges with our Operations Practice team I know that there is a lot more to operational excellence than that.
Even though my role at innogy Consulting is in classic management consulting, there are often areas where my daily work intersects with that of my Operations Practice colleagues. A small workshop series then gave me the opportunity to learn more about the department. By simulating a paper snowflake crafting production chain, we learned which methods can be used to analyse and optimise simple processes. Topic-based workshops such as this not only help us understand what topics the various Practice departments cover, they also encourage a general exchange of knowledge and experience. As a result, each Practice team tries to host regular workshops where they introduce and discuss their methods, tools and current issues.
That sparked my curiosity. What do our colleagues in Operations Practice do differently from us classic strategic consultants in their daily work? I met with my colleague Julius Allwermann to find out. We started our careers at innogy Consulting together. While I started as a classic strategic and management consultant, he chose to go straight into Operations Practice.
Björn Selzer: Back then, how did you find out about the Operations Practice at innogy Consulting?
Julius Allwermann: Initial contact came through old university friends. This first insight left a lasting impression. Before I started at innogy Consulting, I had already gained some experience in operational excellence in the automotive sector. I was interested in how those principles would apply in other industries. With industry convergence the way it is, the boundaries are becoming blurred. For instance in e-mobility, where the energy and automotive sectors are coming together. It was therefore clear to me that I wanted to work in the Operations Practice at iCon.
Björn Selzer: Can you give a brief insight into what your job entails? How would you describe the role of a typical operations consultant?
Julius Allwermann: The biggest difference has to be the fundamental question underlying our work. While our colleagues in strategic consulting have to ask themselves “What do we have to do to be successful in the future?”, we have to ask ourselves “How can we work more efficiently and lower costs today?”. A classic example of an operations task is process optimisation, which involves taking a close look at every step of the value chain – from supplier to customer, known as end-to-end – and checking for possible improvements.
As a result, a typical operations consultant is very hands-on. That means they work closely with customers to understand their problem as well as possible and develop solutions that are both targeted and pragmatic
Björn Selzer: How do you ensure that the strategies you present to companies take long-term root and flourish?
Julius Allwermann: The best concept is worthless if it sits in the drawer and gathers dust. We therefore place a lot of importance on giving customers the right tools to ensure successful implementation. For instance, we help company management implement a continuous performance management system, so that projects results are maintained and anchored in daily operations in the long term when we’re no longer there to keep an eye on things. Within the team, our duties include ensuring that recurrent problems can be dealt with independently should they occur again in future. We get regular support with this from the change experts in the Change Practice team.
Björn Selzer: How successful are you in exchanging ideas with the other consulting departments? What do you pay particular attention to when working with colleagues from innogy Consulting?
Julius Allwermann: As I just said, we work closely with other Practice departments to prevent silos from forming. We also offer the other Practice teams training sessions on topics such as lean management or robotics to pass on our knowledge to colleagues from other departments. Particularly when it comes to issues around workflow automation, we coordinate closely with Digital Practice. Often, larger projects are also staffed with consultants from different Practice departments, ensuring a close network throughout our daily work.
What’s more, we always get valuable input from colleagues in other Practice teams thanks to the feedback culture of innogy Consulting. As well as regular feedback meetings with project managers, cross-Practice teams also offer a great platform for reflections on what we can do better. In this way we can learn from the experiences of our colleagues and develop ourselves further.
Björn Selzer: How do you feel about the current challenges in the energy industry?
Julius Allwermann: The energy industry is currently undergoing a major overhaul. The change from conventional to renewable energy generation is intended to happen over a very short space of time. In these dynamic times, we are trying to help individual departments form a basis of lean organisational structures and processes from which they can actively help shape the energy revolution. But I am certain of one thing: for the change to succeed, we will need the expertise of each and every Practice team.
Björn Selzer: Thank you very much for the interview and the exciting look you have given us into the Operations Practice.
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