OPEXpert · Operational Excellence Systems
World-class operational excellence systems — deployed fractionally, so they outlast me.
Twenty-five years deploying BCG, EY and CCI Manufacturing Excellence frameworks at Pfizer, Nestlé, Cadbury, Lion and P&G. Now delivered fractionally and context-specifically for senior leadership teams who want a system that lives on after the consultant leaves.
The OPEXpert System
Five drivers of a culture of continuous improvement.
Constructive Leadership Culture
Foundations
Leading & Managing Change
Foundations
Team Work
Deploy
Lean Execution
Deploy
Tiered Accountability
Deploy
The Stance
Built for your context.
Owned by your team.
Operational excellence done well does not need to be a permanent retainer.
I have spent twenty-five years deploying world-class OPEX systems inside large multinationals. What I have learned is that the deployments that actually stick are the ones the internal team owns, not the ones the consultant runs.
So I work fractionally. I diagnose first, design the system with you, and transfer everything I know along the way, so the people running your business after I leave are the people who built it.
Context-specific
No methodology dropped in unchanged. Every deployment starts with a diagnostic so the system fits the business, the people and the maturity that's already there.
Fractional
Engaged when needed, stepped back when not. Designed to reduce dependency on me, not increase it.
Knowledge transfer
Your internal team learns to run, coach and improve the system. The goal is self-sufficiency, not a consulting annuity.
Built to last
The bar is whether the system is healthier in year two than in year one. Sustainability is the measurable outcome, not a feel-good claim.
The Operational Excellence System
Five drivers. Two layers. One system.
Two foundations carry the weight: leadership and change. Three deployment drivers turn that foundation into how the work actually flows. Each driver is a coherent body of practice, not a slogan.
Foundations — the conditions under which the system will hold
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01
Constructive Leadership Culture
Leaders who build trust and psychological safety. Without this, every other driver eventually fails. With it, problems surface early and people own them.
How it shows up
Constructive leadership styles
Leader as coach
Structured Gemba
Leader's Standard Work
Engagement rhythm
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02
Leading & Managing Change
Building organisational adaptability. Strategy that cascades. Change that is governed. People who know what is changing, why, and what is expected of them.
Strategy deployment
SteerCo & governance
Change vision & comms
Stakeholder engagement
Change risk management
Deploy — the practice that turns foundation into flow
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03
Team Work
Effective teams driving a culture of continuous improvement. The unit of operational excellence is the team, not the individual.
How it shows up
High-performing team building
Team charters
Skills matrices
Training plans
Effective meetings
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04
Lean Execution
Lean tools used to reduce waste and improve flow. The right tool for the right problem, not a tool for every problem.
How it shows up
PDCA / DMAIC CI loop
A3 thinking
8 wastes reduction
5S, TPM, SMED
Value stream mapping
Standard work
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05
Tiered Accountability
Measuring and visualising performance from board to frontline. A clear line of sight from strategy to the work, and back again.
How it shows up
Strategy cascade (BSC)
SQDCP measures
Visual management
Tiered meeting structure
OKRs
The principle underneath
HOW is more important than WHAT.
Most OPEX programmes fail not because the tools are wrong, but because the discipline and structure that should hold the tools in place never gets built. Tools are easy. The system that uses them well is the work.
Discipline
&
Structure
People · Process
The OPEXpert Diagnostic
Start with what's actually in front of you.
Every deployment begins with a focused diagnostic, so the implementation plan we build together is yours, not a template recycled from someone else's business.
Scaled to the size and complexity of your organisation, I work through the five drivers of the system with the leadership team and a representative cross-section of the business. The output is a tailored plan that names the ten or twelve things that matter most, in the order they should happen.
Five drivers assessed across roughly seventeen sub-dimensions, each scored on a five-level maturity scale.
Current state observations grounded in what we actually saw, not a generic state-of-the-industry view.
A phased deployment roadmap with quick wins, the next sixty to ninety days, and the longer arc.
Clarity on which capability builds inside your team, and which work I lead while you watch.
A close-out readout with the leadership team. Decisions, not slides.
Maturity Ladder
How we score each dimension.
Ad Hoc
Reactive. No systematic process.
Repeatable
Some processes exist, applied inconsistently.
Defined
Documented processes, systematic implementation.
Managed
Data-driven, continuously monitored.
Optimising
Self-improving culture, proactive innovation.
Sub-dimensions assessed across the five drivers include: leadership behaviour, communication, employee engagement, change planning & sustainability, leader's standard work, strategy deployment, team structure, collaboration, skills & capability, problem identification, analysis & solution, implementation & control, structure & roles, performance management, problem resolution, visual management.
How we work together
A four-step engagement, designed to hand the system back.
The shape of the work is consistent. The content is yours.
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01
Diagnose
Focused on-site time with the leadership team and a representative cross-section, scaled to the size and complexity of the business. The five drivers, scored honestly, with the leadership team aligned on what we actually see.
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02
Design
A tailored deployment plan built with your team, not for them. Sequenced quick wins, ninety-day milestones, the longer roadmap.
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03
Deploy & coach
Fractional engagement. I coach the people doing the work, embed the rhythms, and step back as your internal capability grows.
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04
Hand back
The system runs without me. We agree the measures of self-sufficiency before we start, so handover is a milestone, not a hope.
What you get with Matt is sharp professional insight, a willingness to challenge how things are done, and outstanding results.
Andrew · Head of Supply
Next Step
Run the self-assessment, or book a thirty-minute conversation.
If you'd like a sense of where your organisation sits before we talk, the short OPEX self-assessment will give you a quick read across the five drivers. If you'd rather start with a conversation, that link works too.