Page 58 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

Aligning the Baseline Logic 49

Logics Worksheet Cell 2
“What is happening today that
Prospect’s Current Situation (S ) the prospect would like to change?”
1
Prospect’s Triggering Event, Problem, and Its Effects
(Including Lack of Benefits and Downside Risk of Doing Nothing)
Triggering Event: ABC’s market forecast red
Single Overriding Problem*: Lack of capacity
Effects of Problem:
‡ Deteriorating delivery performance
‡ Declining quality
‡ Increased costs resulting from overtime and schedule interruptions to meet “rush” delivery dates
‡ Threatened ability to maintain/increase market share
‡ Difficult-to-maintain productivity levels red
‡ Inability to address longer-range, more challenging improvement projects 1) List
‡ Less flexibility for change
‡ Possible increases in third shift
‡ Additional maintenance costs
‡ Employee burnout, lower morale, and lower retention rates 3) Align 2) Expand
‡ Increased costs for training new employees
‡ Negative impact on bonuses

*Align with the dominant overriding question in Cell 4.

FIGURE 3.21 ABC L o gics W o r k s h eet , C e ll 2, c omp l et e d
FIGURE 3.21 ABC Logics Worksheet, Cell 2, completed

ABC, you believe, has insight about its current situation—they know they have
a production capacity problem, and they desire a plan to address that problem.
On the face of it, then, it would appear that you will be proposing a planning
study. However, you’re not certain that ABC has the right insight. For example,
although they do have a sales forecast—and one in which Marcia Collins, the vice
president of marketing, has considerable confidence—you believe that any fore-
cast must be validated, since it provides the basis for all further analysis.
A validated forecast might reveal that ABC doesn’t need quite as much capac-
ity as they now believe or that the timing for implementing additional capacity
will be sooner or later than is now anticipated. Furthermore, although Gilmore’s
inspection of the main manufacturing facility revealed good workflow and
housekeeping and excellent equipment utilization, your experience tells you that
various marginal improvements at that facility (and perhaps at the satellite facili-
ties) could provide some additional capacity, perhaps without ABC’s having to
invest in bricks and mortar so soon.
Finally, there’s the issue of outsourcing. At present, ABC appears to manufac-
ture most of its components rather than relying on outside suppliers to provide
them. Various make-versus-buy scenarios could provide capacity that ABC does