Finance, Strategy & IT Projects

Helps you understand your where costs are being incurred and make better decisions on product profitability, allocations and resources by exploiting the benefits of Activity Based Costing.

Activity based costing (ABC) will help a business understand where costs are being incurred, and can often be used as a strategic tool in sales product pricing and product launch or retirement decisions.  The information from an ABC exercise could provide you with a completely different perspective on what you may currently think are your most successful, or most expensive, areas of activity

A dms ABC report will not simply consist of an Excel print but will be accompanied by written material providing an analysis and interpretation of what the numbers are suggesting

Adds value by helping build a coherent and relevant strategy that gives your organisation a sense of direction, goals and purpose.

Strategic papers and Powerpoint presentations are not just needed for bank and other finance discussions. They need to act as an ongoing reference point for the general direction of travel.

Through a series of workshops and one to one discussion and interviews dms can work with your senior management team to generate a coherent and relevant strategy that will add value to your organisation.

Key outputs of a strategy assignment will be the delivery of a Powerpoint presentation, supported by appropriate written material.  It will also include recommendations on how and when strategy ought to be revisited and updated.

Achieves success by adopting a balanced approach to business recovery. While short term survival depends on effective cash management and cost control, in the longer term a business can only flourish through top-line growth.     

With the ability to synthesise experience in Finance, Sales and Operations dms is able to provide a perspective that very few single function subject matter experts can provide.

Financial drivers would typically be the first area to resolve. The immediate needs of your financiers necessarily have to be met, primarily through the delivery of effective forecasting and the ‘hands-on’ day-to-day management of cash. However this will not be enough to actually turn a business around. To put the business on a path to bottom-line growth sales must grow, and grow in a way that does not introduce additional costs into the equation.

A dms business turnaround is a special kind of project, one that requires the skills and experience of a consultant, finance director, sales director and operations director all rolled into one. Leadership, management and motivational skills, experience and insight are what we believe make the difference.

Business turnarounds require 100% focus and are taken on an exclusive basis. Assignments are unlikely to be for less than three months and could extend to a year.

Helps mitigate the effects of downsizing on the your customers, the most important part of your business.

 Many organisations make arbitrary cuts in resources without considering the impacts on the most important stakeholder in their businesses, the customer.

The dms method involves taking a more considered approach. It combines analytical data produced by activity based costing with an impact analysis of any proposed resource reductions on customer service levels. Resourcing decisions are thus of a higher quality and reduce the potential for any unexpected effects on customers.    

Analyses your strategic IT landscape. An independent collation and assessment of user requirements and prospective vendor solutions. Help with vendor selection and support with  implementation.

dms does not hold affiliations with any software suppliers and can therefore provide independent and unbiased support with IT challenges. Drawing from the experience of delivering an £18m Workforce Management System, dms is able to provide a ‘blue-chip’ level of support in the selection and delivery of a new IT system.

Support can include some or all of the following tasks:

Identification and validation of the need for an IT system. In some cases it may be possible to improve existing processes and avoid committing to what can often be significant capital expenditure.

Collation of user requirements and system specification.

Development of a written business case and presentation support to a board.

Support with best practice system selection methodology.

Assistance with contract negotiations.

Determination of critical success factors.

Origination or validation of a vendor project plan.

Project implementation including reviews, UAT/OAT testing and rollout.

Handover to operational use.

The project nature of dms support can often mean that costs can be capitalised as part of the IT programme.

dms can also provide support to organisations who intend to adopt an ‘IT Roadmap’ approach to the evolution of systems architecture.

dms will often work in collaboration with IT specialists in systems work.

Help with developing profit and loss, cashflow and other financial models for use in raising capital.

 Most SME’s are already using some form of forecasting and planning tool. However, from time to time strategic planning exercises are required, or perhaps a business plan is needed as part of a refinancing application. dms is able to support the development of profit and loss and cash flow forecasts for discrete business planning projects, and can also help out on an interim basis during the busy annual budget season.

Darwen Management Services

Management Consultancy & Interim Solutions

Darwen Management Services Ltd Registered Address 23a Railway Rd, Darwen BB3 2RG Company Number 4189531.

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