{"id":1305,"date":"2013-11-19T14:37:49","date_gmt":"2013-11-19T14:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peeriosity.com\/shared-services\/articles\/?p=1305"},"modified":"2022-06-22T14:34:39","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T14:34:39","slug":"utilizing-lean-six-sigma-to-reduce-accounts-receivable-and-increase-cash-flow-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peeriosity.com\/shared-services\/articles\/2013\/11\/utilizing-lean-six-sigma-to-reduce-accounts-receivable-and-increase-cash-flow-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Utilizing Lean Six Sigma to Reduce Accounts Receivable and Increase Cash Flow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Working Capital Management is one of the most valuable services a Shared Services operation can deliver to the company. While the focus may be on efficiently processing Order-to-Cash transactions<\/a>, such as Billing and Cash Application, there is great added value in the analysis of receivables and identifying and implementing solutions to increase cash flow. <\/span><\/p>\n

A culture of continuous improvement, and the discipline to incorporate it into the DNA of a Shared Services organization, can be applied at all levels of an organization. From the largest of transformation projects to the very simple question \u201cIs there anything we can do to improve our customer collection time<\/a>?\u201d, all it may take to realize substantial working capital gains is someone to be willing to ask the questions and then collect and analyze the data using a disciplined approach to process improvement<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a recent <\/span>Peeriosity PeercastTM <\/sup>in the Accounts Receivable (OTC) research area<\/a>, our feature company, which had implemented Lean Six Sigma throughout the organization, asked a very simple question, \u201cWhat can we do to improve our receivables?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

As with all Peeriosity PeercastsTM<\/sup>, participants answered iPolling<\/span>\u00ae<\/span> questions that helped frame the discussion:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"extent<\/p>\n

For those using a continuous program, Lean Six Sigma was the most predominant in use, with 36% indicating it was actively being leveraged in their OTC processes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our feature company outlined its approach to answering the question \u201cWhat can we do to improve our receivables?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

After initial data gathering and analysis, a problem statement was formed and a narrow scope was identified:<\/span><\/p>\n