Inventory & Stock Control
Inventory accuracy, stock availability, purchasing processes, warehouse procedures and the systems connecting them.
Business Operations & Systems Improvement
When something in your business isn't working as well as it should, I can help find out why — and help fix it.
Practical assistance for established businesses with operational problems, inventory, warehouse systems, workflow, business processes, management information and technology.
Established businesses often develop operational problems gradually.
Inventory becomes difficult to control. Warehouse processes become inefficient. Staff create spreadsheets to work around existing systems. Information is entered twice. Management reports aren't trusted. Software doesn't work the way the business expected. Processes that worked when the business was smaller no longer work at its present size.
I work with business owners and management teams to identify the underlying cause of these problems and develop practical solutions.
Problems I can help solve
The starting point is usually a practical business problem rather than a predetermined solution.
Warehouse & WMS Systems
Warehouse process review, WMS selection and implementation, barcode and inventory workflows, and integration with existing business systems.
Business Process Improvement
Identifying unnecessary manual processes, duplicated work, bottlenecks and systems that have developed inefficiently over time.
Management Information & Business Systems
Improving the information available to management and resolving situations where different systems or reports produce conflicting information.
Technology, Automation & AI
Assessing where modern automation and artificial intelligence can eliminate repetitive work or improve existing processes — where there is a genuine commercial benefit.
Systems That Have Outgrown the Business
Reviewing processes and systems that once worked well but are no longer keeping pace with the size, complexity or demands of the business.
Practical help — not just recommendations
My approach is practical: understand the problem, identify its underlying cause, develop an appropriate solution and, where required, assist with implementation.
Usually the starting point is not a large consulting engagement.
It is a problem.
Perhaps your stock figures can't be relied upon. Perhaps a warehouse process has become inefficient. Perhaps you've invested in software that isn't producing the expected result. Or perhaps management knows that something isn't working but hasn't yet established exactly where the problem lies.
The first step is simply to understand the problem.
From there I can review the relevant processes, systems and information, identify likely causes and recommend practical priorities.
Where appropriate, I can also assist with implementation rather than simply producing a report.
Technology should solve a business problem
New software, automation and AI can provide substantial benefits, but the technology itself is not the objective.
The objective is a better business process: less duplication, more reliable information, better inventory control, faster administration, clearer management reporting or a more efficient workflow.
Technology is considered where it provides a practical and commercially worthwhile way of achieving that result.
Melbourne based — working with businesses throughout Victoria and Australia
Shaw Media provides practical business operations and systems assistance to established businesses, with a particular focus on operational improvement, inventory and warehouse processes, business systems and technology.
Have a business problem you'd like to discuss?
An initial conversation costs nothing and may quickly establish whether I can help.
Tony Shaw
Business Operations & Systems Adviser
Telephone: 0413 443 461
Email: tony@shawmedia.com.au