Operational excellence is a simple concept with complex implications. Consistently doing things well across every element of the value chain is clear enough in principle. But it is a moving target: To maintain their competitive advantage, successful enterprises must constantly adapt to new situations. Traditional competitors consolidate just as unfamiliar ones arrive on the scene. Customers discover new needs as they come to expect better quality and lower prices. New markets emerge in a shrinking world. These dynamics do not alter the fundamentals of operational excellence. But they do force companies to be excellent at doing different things.

A drive for efficiency is implicit, but this must be achieved in a coordinated way by building links across the organization so that all functions share a harmonised set of performance metrics.

The ultimate goal is a “single source of truth” where senior executives have shared visibility into all parts of the organization, enabling management by facts. The ideal result is a high-level dashboard for senior executives with the ability to drill down into different business functions, including operations, finance, IT, and sales and marketing.