A large integrated steel mill was interested in cutting maintenance and MRO materials costs but didn't know how far they could go without harming their production rates. Their sister mill, only 50 km away, was operating profitably but they were losing money and under a great deal of pressure to improve. Their workforce was highly experienced and skilled and although they had a great deal of spare parts and materials visibly available they couldn't seem to improve mill reliability and they didn't know where to start. They could see that improvement was possible but they had no idea what it would cost and no idea what the potential for benefits would be. The accounting practises in this company demanded that any spending on a major improvement initiative show not only what they'd be doing, but how much it would cost and how much payback they should expect and from what source. Until then, no improvements would proceed.
A review of their practises revealed several areas for improvement including several that the mill had not yet considered. The experience of the reviewers was able to provide a reasonable estimate of what should be done first, how long each improvement would take and what they could expect to spend. A further review of spending was correlated to their practises to show potential spending reductions as a result of making the recommended changes. A review of overall performance compared to "best in class" performers revealed the potential for reliability and corresponding revenue gains. The payback potential was huge - more than 5 times the initial investment in outside support over a two year period resulting in savings close to $20 million annually by the third year. The requirements for a substantial business case were met, the hurdle rate for approval of the investment required was exceeded. The managers were then comfortable with what was being proposed and improvements could proceed.
Although their own people knew there was room to improve and they knew some of the things they could be doing better, they didn't know how to get there nor were they able to quantify the costs and benefits with sufficient rigour to satisfy their own financing rules. With help, they were able to identify more improvements, quantify the costs and the benefits, present the results for financing and gain approval to proceed.
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The benefits from having a well defined business case stem entirely from the organizational choice to proceed. That choice requires buy-in from others and that requires that they understand your case. Speaking "their" language helps get "their" approval.
