SCAR Advantage™

    Worked example, 30-day impact report

    One real decision, worked with the people who own it. This is the report the client receives at the end. Company details are withheld under NDA.

    The decision

    What was stuck, and what the delay was costing.

    Where things stood on day one
    Everyday supplier spending was still going to the executive committee for sign-off. The limit had been set years earlier after one bad contract and never raised, even though the business had grown a lot since. Division heads carried the responsibility but could not say yes.
    Sponsor
    Chief financial officer
    People involved
    Executive committee and four divisional leaders

    Baseline and target

    Agreed at intake with the client finance function, from their own approval records.

    Where it started, Day 0
    17 approvals escalated per week. Average turnaround 11 days. Chief executive time on decisions she did not own: about 6 hours per week.
    Where we aimed to be, Day 30
    Sign-off goes upstairs only when the spend really crosses divisions. Turnaround inside 48 hours. Chief executive time under 1 hour per week.

    What moved

    Measured every week against where we started.

    WeekDecision speedExecution speedEscalations
    Baseline11 days24 days17 per week
    Week 17 days18 days9 per week
    Week 23 days9 days6 per week
    Week 32 days5 days4 per week
    Week 41.5 days3 days3 per week
    Day 30 outcome

    Sign-offs pushed upstairs fell by 82 percent. Decisions went from 11 days to 1.5 days. Getting the work done went from 24 days to 3 days. The chief executive got back about 5.5 hours a week. No approval mistakes and no risk incidents along the way. Two senior leaders who had been thinking about leaving said getting their authority back was a reason to stay.

    Day 90, confirmed by finance

    What was done, when, what it cost and what it saves.

    Finance confirmed the change held through the next quarter, and the time saved and the faster supplier cycle were built into the operating plan. The decision has not come back.
    Your report would look like this.

    Your decision, your starting point, your numbers. How we get there is something we talk through with you, not something we publish.

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    SCAR Advantage™ and its underlying method are the proprietary intellectual property of David Maclean Education Advisory (Pty) Ltd.
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