Home / Operations consultancy / Tools and guides

Tools and guides

Working tools for people who would rather do it themselves.

Each pack finishes one job with your own numbers. A blank workbook, a worked example, templates you can send and a guide to the method.

See the tools

KPI and DIFOT ToolkitOne delivery number everyone accepts, and the causes behind the misses$249 inc GSTInstant download Cost to Serve WorkbookWhat each customer really costs to look after$249 inc GSTInstant download Warehouse Move Planning PackStock, systems, people and customers arriving on the same day$249 inc GSTInstant download Bringing AI into Your BusinessThe right first task, the real cost and a pilot that ends in a decision$149 inc GSTInstant download

Download | Excel, Word and PDF | Use it today

Operational KPI and DIFOT Toolkit

Get one delivery number everyone accepts, see which causes cost you the most orders and run a 30 minute weekly review that fixes them.

$249including GST. Instant download.

In the download

Tracking workbook: settings, six definition decisions, order log for 2,000 orders that scores itself, weekly summary with chart, cause Pareto, owner area split
Action log and a ten measure KPI scorecard with written definitions
Weekly review agenda and root cause prompts
Worked example with 160 orders, and a Read Me First guide

Preview: from the worked example inside

Cause (worked example, 159 orders)	Failed	Share	Cumulative
Carrier late	11	29%	29%
Stock not available at release	9	24%	53%
Pick error or short pick	6	16%	68%
Released too late for cut-off	5	13%	82%
Promise date not achievable	4	11%	92%

DIFOT 76%, on time 86%, in full 89%. Owner areas: warehouse 34%, carrier 29%, inventory 26%, sales and customer service 11%.

Want it done on your data by a consultant? That is the DIFOT Review. You do not need it to use the toolkit.

Format, licence, support and who it suits

FormatZip file. Excel workbooks (Excel 2016 or later, or Google Sheets), Word templates and PDF guides
LicenceUse across your own business, all sites. It cannot be resold or used as a consultant's product
SupportFiles and formulas, by email, one business day. Data entry and interpretation are yours
Who it suitsOperations, warehouse and customer service managers at distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers.

Download | Excel, Word and PDF | Use it today

Cost to Serve Workbook

Work out what each customer costs to look after, in a model your finance manager can trace line by line.

$249including GST. Instant download.

In the download

Workbook for 40 cost lines and 50 customers: cost pools with fixed and variable split, activity drivers, results by customer
Reconciliation sheet that catches double counted freight and missing costs
Assumption test against the revenue spread shortcut, and a scenario sheet that separates cash from capacity
Worked example of a $16.6m distributor, interpretation notes and a Read Me First guide

Preview: from the worked example inside

Customer (worked example)	Gross margin	Cost to serve	Contribution
Metro Building Co	$567,000	$178,284	$388,716
Harbour Hardware Group	$1,050,000	$778,226	$271,774
Parkside Pharmacy Group	$236,000	$236,306	-$306
Online direct	$152,000	$332,563	-$180,563

Scenario on Parkside: 40% fewer drops, a $15 delivery fee, 25% fewer service contacts. Modelled gain $60,833. Cash within 12 months $35,665. Capacity released $25,168. The workbook keeps those apart.

Want the model built and tested on your data? That is the Cost to Serve Review.

Format, licence, support and who it suits

FormatZip file. Excel workbooks (Excel 2016 or later, or Google Sheets), Word templates and PDF guides
LicenceUse across your own business, all sites. It cannot be resold or used as a consultant's product
SupportFiles and formulas, by email, one business day. Data entry and interpretation are yours
Who it suitsOwners, general managers and finance managers at distributors and wholesalers.

Download | Excel, Word and PDF | Use it today

Warehouse Move Planning Pack

Plan a relocation or consolidation so stock, systems, people and customers all arrive on the same day.

$249including GST. Instant download.

In the download

Move profile that tests whether your move window is physically possible
55 line readiness checklist across nine workstreams, dated back from go-live, with a dashboard
Move sequence by wave, load by load stock reconciliation, go or no-go criteria
Hour by hour cutover plan, comms plan, responsibilities, risk register
Worked example of a 4,200 pallet move and a Read Me First guide

Preview: from the worked example inside

Move Profile (worked example)	Result
Pallets to move	4,200
Truck loads needed	191
Loads a day with 8 trucks	32
Days needed with 25% contingency	7.5
Planned window of 4 days holds?	No. 15 trucks needed, or phase it

Plus a 55 line readiness checklist dated back from go-live, load by load stock reconciliation, go or no-go criteria and an hour by hour cutover plan.

It does not replace engineers, racking suppliers or fire consultants. It tells you when to book them. For hands on help, send a project brief.

Format, licence, support and who it suits

FormatZip file. Excel workbooks (Excel 2016 or later, or Google Sheets), Word templates and PDF guides
LicenceUse across your own business, all sites. It cannot be resold or used as a consultant's product
SupportFiles and formulas, by email, one business day. Data entry and interpretation are yours
Who it suitsWhoever has been handed the move on top of their day job.

Download | Excel, Word and PDF | Use it today

Bringing AI into Your Business

Choose the first task, know the real cost, protect your data, bring your team and run a six week pilot that ends in a decision.

$149including GST. Instant download.

In the download

Practical guide written for operations businesses
Opportunity scorer for 15 tasks that ranks by value and flags where a person must stay in charge
Business case with payback, break-even hours and an honest downside case
Readiness and guardrails checklist including privacy and customer contract checks
Six week pilot plan, and staff rules you can adapt

Preview: from the worked example inside

Task (worked example)	Value a year	Fit	Call
Keying emailed purchase orders	$28,944	74	Do first
Matching carrier invoices	$21,312	83	Do first
Order status replies	$15,288	84	Do first
Approving customer credits	$1,560	48	Assist only

Business case for the first one: it pays back in about 5 months at full adoption. If only half the saving shows up it loses about $2,000 in year one, so the pilot gets a stop rule.

Want a second pair of eyes on your scorer and business case? Use a Problem Solving Session. We take no commissions from AI vendors.

Format, licence, support and who it suits

FormatZip file. Excel workbooks (Excel 2016 or later, or Google Sheets), Word templates and PDF guides
LicenceUse across your own business, all sites. It cannot be resold or used as a consultant's product
SupportFiles and formulas, by email, one business day. Data entry and interpretation are yours
Who it suitsOwners and managers who keep being told they need AI and want to find out where, if anywhere, it pays.

No charge: What the symptom is telling you, a field guide to ten common operational problems (PDF, no email needed).

Prices include GST. A tax invoice is emailed with your download. If a file is faulty and we cannot fix it within two business days, you get your money back. Purchase terms.

Before you buy the toolkit, what a good DIFOT actually is covers the formula, the ranges used in Australian operations and why two systems in the same business report different numbers. No charge and no email.

Benchmarking yourself? We published what a good DIFOT actually is. Want the price before you ask? See what a review costs. Not sure where to start? Take the ten minute health check. We work on site in Sydney and Melbourne.

Call 0494 820 639 Free health check