Instability: Instability is where many organizations begin and often return to in their journey. Teams stuck in instability often experience inconsistent results, frustration across departments, and constant rework. Without a clear sense of direction, decisions tend to be emotion-driven rather than data-informed. The lack of visibility into operations makes it difficult to know where to focus time and energy. Teams are stuck in a reactive mode, constantly firefighting rather than executing planned strategies. This was the case for one of our clients following the pandemic. Faced with a $75 million backlog in orders, they had no clear way to prioritize shipments, leaving their distribution center overwhelmed and unable to move products in or out. The team was overworked, frustrated, and unable to gain control.

To move out of instability, the first critical step is creating visibility. You need to understand your current state and prioritize the most impactful issues. The Work Excellence Method with Work Direction, Work Improvement, Work System, and Work Measurement helps organizations clarify their purpose, processes, measures, and initiatives to align their teams. For our client, we deployed a data product that allowed them to visualize all their shipments then prioritize them, giving them a clear direction to reduce their backlog and regain stability. By defining processes and creating consistent visibility, organizations can begin the journey from instability to stability.

Stability: Stability is achieved when teams have visibility into their processes and understand where they can make an impact. Decision-making at this stage is a blend of emotion and data, but the organization is no longer overwhelmed by constant crises. Instead of firefighting, there’s a sense of stability starting to take shape, but gaps in understanding and performance still exist.

The organization may not be hitting every target, but it is no longer at risk of collapsing. It’s a more organized environment where the team can finally start to work on improving the business. One client, for example, was struggling with freight costs. They couldn’t quickly reconcile estimated shipping costs with actual charges, leaving them in a reactive state. By implementing our data products to track these costs, they gained visibility into their expenses. While still reactive, the team could now identify the causes behind cost spikes and address them in real-time, reducing the strain on operations and bringing more stability to their processes.

Control: The key to progressing from Stability to Control is learning what works and then standardizing it. At the Control level, organizations have built processes they trust. Variability in outcomes is reduced, and teams consistently hit their targets. Decisions are data-driven, and there’s a clearer understanding of why they are or aren’t meeting their goals. As teams gain more clarity and purpose in their work, employee morale improves. Control marks a shift toward future planning—teams start looking ahead and working on the business, rather than just in it.

For one of our clients, gaining control involved reducing inventory dollars and units to meet their financial targets. We deployed our Between the Rails data product and with this they were able to cut inventory from $57M to $43M and maintain this reduction for 12 months. With this newfound control, they began to look at new targets and optimize further. By freeing up cash flow, the organization could pay down its credit line while keeping available inventory at its highest levels. With processes standardized, they were finally able to shift focus from short-term fixes to long-term growth.

Capability: To move beyond Control and reach Capability, organizations must embrace innovation. This is where stretch goals come into play—teams are consistently hitting targets and can push themselves further, taking on challenges that previously seemed out of reach. Innovation becomes part of the regular rhythm, with teams setting new benchmarks for success. Long-term planning, often spanning 1-3 years or more, becomes the norm. Systems are now robust enough to support future growth.

A client we worked with at this stage had gained visibility into their delivery network and, with new tools, began exploring new markets. By partnering with third-party vendors, they not only expanded their reach but also gained more control over their operations. The results? Lower costs to deliver to these markets, coupled with increased revenue. It was a powerful demonstration of how moving from control to capability enables organizations to scale, innovate, and tap into new opportunities.

Predictability: Finally, Predictability is the ultimate goal—though it’s rare to achieve, the journey toward it brings immense benefits. At this stage, organizations have systems in place that consistently hit targets, with real-time data driving decision-making. Root cause analysis becomes quick and efficient, and teams no longer need to dig for information—it’s readily available and actionable. One of our clients used advanced measurement tools to accurately forecast how macroeconomic trends would affect their business. By understanding which levers to pull and when, they were able to predict outcomes with confidence and act proactively, long before these trends impacted their bottom line.

Their supply chain became more predictable, allowing them to make major strategic decisions with confidence. For example, they determined that they didn’t need to open a new distribution center, a decision that saved them $12 million in build costs while still enabling growth with their current resource structure. This level of predictability allowed them to maintain control while continuing to scale efficiently.

While predictability is an ideal state, maintaining it requires continuous investment, vigilance, and refinement in your data, tools, and processes. It may be difficult to maintain a consistent level of predictability, but the strides taken to reach this level will drastically improve your business.