Cost or Opportunity? How Miscommunication with the Technical Department Costs Companies Money

In many manufacturing companies, I see clear miscommunication – or even a total lack of communication – between (commercial) management and the technical department (TD). The TD is often familiar with recurring problems that they solve with limited resources. These issues frequently lead to unnecessary, sometimes even structural downtime. Yet, there is no sense of urgency to invest as long as “everything is running” and profits are being made.

The difference in focus plays a major role here. Management focuses on numbers, revenue, and profit, often without a clear understanding of what’s happening on the shop floor to achieve these results. I’ve worked in companies where the TD was seen as a necessary evil, just a cost center. The TD keeps the factory running, often with great effort, but due to limited resources, many optimization opportunities remain untapped: no budget, no time, no urgency. Everything is running again, on to the next.

This difference in focus creates friction and blocks effective communication. Yet, there is a huge opportunity in the continuous optimization of production lines. The technical people on the shop floor know exactly where the bottlenecks are. With minimal investment, you can often achieve maximum returns.

A simple example:
Imagine a company with an annual revenue of 50 million euros and 24/7 production that loses half an hour (0.3%!) of production time every week due to unnecessary downtime. This costs the company 150,000 euros annually. With targeted investments for optimazations, this amount can be easily saved.

Curious about what’s possible for your company?
I bridge the gap between both parties. With both a technical and commercial perspective, I quickly identify improvement opportunities. Do you wish to save money and improve internal communication? Feel free to get in touch and discover the potential of targeted optimization.