Move to Improve - ABM Article by Tom Pryor

"MOVE TO IMPROVE"
by Tom Pryor

Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people and successful companies keep moving. Our company moved to new offices last week. Moving can be tiring, time consuming and troubling. But through it all we learned some valuable lessons. I believe those lessons can be applied in any organization needing to improve cost and profitability.

Moving helped us simplify and save.
A move is an opportunity to discard unnecessary items. We analyzed the "as is" office and then discussed what we wanted it "to be". During our analysis, non-value added costs were exposed. For example, customers today now "talk" to us primarily by e-mail, not phone. Therefore, during the move we eliminated several unnecessary, expensive phone lines.
Moving helped us re-think our needs.
A move is an opportunity to separate wants from needs. For example, I "wanted" an office close to the airport, but we "needed" a lower cost lease that would free up funds for new product development.
Moving helped us define new paths.
A move is an opportunity to get out of a rut. We analyzed our processes and looked for opportunities to define new and improved paths, both personally and professionally. For example, we selected an office site that reduces non-value added commuting time for all employees.
Moving helped us unify.
A move is an opportunity to gain consensus. Step one for us was agreeing that we were dissatisfied
with the present office. Step two was gaining awareness of a better place. Step three was working together to move to that new office. A successful move begins and ends with consensus.

NOTE: This is a good place to make you aware of our new address and phone numbers:

ICMS, Inc.
6031 W. I-20
Suite 100
Arlington, TX 76094
Phone: 817-475-2945
Fax: 817-483-7097

"One cannot manage change. One can only be ahead of it." This quote from Peter Drucker's book, "Management Challenges for the 21st Century", is a call to action. For the staff of ICMS, change took form in a move to new offices. For your organization, change may take a different form. You may need to change overhead costs, improve a process or analyze customer profitability. To address those types of needs, Drucker encourages organizations to change from traditional costing to Activity Based Cost Management. He says, "Using activity based costing can substantially lower costs - in some instances by a full third." Are you ready to move and improve? If so, give us a call. While we have a new street address, we have the same old e-mail address of tompryor@icms.net.

Please e-mail comments about this article to: TomPryor@icms.net.

If this article has inspired you and your organization to cut costs this year, call us at 817-475-2945, or e-mail your needs to tompryor@icms.net.

This free e-mail is a service of ICMS, Inc.
For more information on ICMS products and services, call 817-475-2945.


	"MOVE TO IMPROVE" by Tom Pryor Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people and successful companies keep moving. Our company moved to new offices last week. Moving can be tiring, time consuming and troubling. But through it all we learned some valuable lessons. I believe those lessons can be applied in any organization needing to improve cost and profitability. Moving helped us simplify and save. A move is an opportunity to discard unnecessary items. We analyzed the "as is" office and then discussed what we wanted it "to be". During our analysis, non-value added costs were exposed. For example, customers today now "talk" to us primarily by e-mail, not phone. Therefore, during the move we eliminated several unnecessary, expensive phone lines. Moving helped us re-think our needs. A move is an opportunity to separate wants from needs. For example, I "wanted" an office close to the airport, but we "needed" a lower cost lease that would free up funds for new product development. Moving helped us define new paths. A move is an opportunity to get out of a rut. We analyzed our processes and looked for opportunities to define new and improved paths, both personally and professionally. For example, we selected an office site that reduces non-value added commuting time for all employees. Moving helped us unify. A move is an opportunity to gain consensus. Step one for us was agreeing that we were dissatisfied with the present office. Step two was gaining awareness of a better place. Step three was working together to move to that new office. A successful move begins and ends with consensus. NOTE: This is a good place to make you aware of our new address and phone numbers: ICMS, Inc. 6031 W. I-20 Suite 100 Arlington, TX 76094 Phone: 817-475-2945 Fax: 817-483-7097 "One cannot manage change. One can only be ahead of it." This quote from Peter Drucker's book, "Management Challenges for the 21st Century", is a call to action. For the staff of ICMS, change took form in a move to new offices. For your organization, change may take a different form. You may need to change overhead costs, improve a process or analyze customer profitability. To address those types of needs, Drucker encourages organizations to change from traditional costing to Activity Based Cost Management. He says, "Using activity based costing can substantially lower costs - in some instances by a full third." Are you ready to move and improve? If so, give us a call. While we have a new street address, we have the same old e-mail address of tompryor@icms.net. Please e-mail comments about this article to: TomPryor@icms.net. If this article has inspired you and your organization to cut costs this year, call us at 817-475-2945, or e-mail your needs to tompryor@icms.net. This free e-mail is a service of ICMS, Inc. For more information on ICMS products and services, call 817-475-2945. Read more ABM articles.

	ICMS, Inc. PO Box 13206 ~ Arlington, Texas 76094 Phone: 817-475-2945 Fax: 817-483-7097