Operational Excellence

The disruption caused by COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and an uncertain macroeconomic environment underscore how critical it is for companies to achieve excellence in end-to-end operations. BCG helps clients use operational innovation to meet the operational excellence imperative.

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What is operational excellence? Operational excellence supercharges efficiency and effectiveness in key steps in the operations value chain—going beyond simple cost-cutting measures. End-to-end operational excellence can deliver impressive value for companies—including a 5% to 15% boost to EBITA; cost reductions of 5% to 10% in third-party procurement spending, 15% to 30% in operations overhead, and 10% to 25% in warehousing and distribution; as well as a 50% to 80% reduction in carbon footprint.

Our Approach to Operational Excellence

BCG’s operational excellence consulting teams help clients unlock efficiency and effectiveness by assisting with holistic value-chain transformation to enhance service and quality, reduce costs, and mitigate risks. We help organizations respond to unprecedented uncertainty by building resilience through competitive cost advantage.

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How We Help Clients Achieve Operational Excellence in End-to-End Operations

Clients choose BCG as their operational excellence partner for:

  • Unlocking new value fast—by zeroing in on the most promising operational innovation opportunities
  • Tying operational excellence to business strategy—by aligning capabilities and performance to key enterprise strategies
  • Sustaining success—by working with leaders across the organization to make sure that operational gains persist for the long term
  • Strengthening their own capabilities—by equipping them with the digital tools, skills, and knowledge needed to tackle their toughest operational challenges on their own
  • Optimizing the supply chain across functions—by breaking down silos and enabling transparency throughout the operational process

The result: a leaner, more agile enterprise that can flex as needed to win—not just now but also far into the future.

We are uniquely positioned to help clients extract maximum value from their operational excellence programs, bringing several core strengths to every project, including:

Global Integrated Teams
An Extensive Suite of Tools and Solutions
A Strong Track Record of Success

Our Operational Excellence Work with Clients

A regional spirits manufacturer aiming to become a global brand asked BCG to help optimize its supply chain. A comprehensive overview pinpointed improvement opportunities in areas such as bottling plant capacity and S&OP efficiency. The analysis uncovered significant value-creation opportunities—including $70 million to $80 million in inventory reductions and $11 million to $13 million in COGS.
Two industrial goods manufacturers merged and asked BCG to help them capture synergies, maximize service quality, and minimize costs and complexity in products and materials. Projects including cost modeling, plant capability assessments, and supplier negotiation strategies positioned the new entity to achieve $130 million in run-rate savings—more than 1.5 times the initial synergy target.
A global Tier 1 automotive supplier enlisted BCG to help stabilize its supply chain network as the pandemic struck. We established a COVID-19 task force with focus areas including health and safety and volume forecasting, and supply chain and logistics control towers to boost efficiency and decrease operating costs. Encouraged by these moves, the client considered extending the work into the following year.
A federal government agency engaged BCG to create a COVID-19-response roadmap and evaluate infrastructure investment risks, including supply shortages. Through investment-scenario modeling and interviews with senior government officials, we confirmed supply stability for most materials, identified potential logistics choke points, pinpointed bottlenecks in project-approval processes, and identified procurement-process improvements—setting the stage for recovery and resilience.

Our Operational Excellence Services and Tools

The following services and tools provide a glimpse into the level of sophistication and rigor our operational excellence consulting experts bring to every client engagement:

Our Insights on End-to-End Operations

Meet BCG’s Operational Excellence Consulting Experts

Managing Director & Senior Partner

Jacopo Brunelli

Managing Director & Partner
Milan

Managing Director & Senior Partner; North America Regional Practice Leader

Laura Juliano

Managing Director & Senior Partner; North America Regional Practice Leader
Houston

Managing Director & Partner

Ben Polak

Managing Director & Partner
Dallas

Managing Director & Partner

Dale Williams

Managing Director & Partner
London

Managing Director & Partner

Monika Saunders

Managing Director & Partner
Melbourne

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