Sava Trade d.d.
Mag. Antonija Pirc, administration president
Taken from a report of 4th International conference for Central and Easterneuropean countries, Bled 2004:

»...we, at Sava Trade d.d., have in autumn of 2002 undertaken a project for systematic handling of expenses. We started with a project called "Complete Optimization of Business Processes" (the method of dr. Hans Ferk). The project runs in two phases. The first phase is a Cost-/Value Driver Analysis. In this first phase there were 180 co-workers involved. Everyone of them acts very economical regarding expenses in their own home environment. Our intention in this project was this knowledge, capabilities and experiences apply in their work environment. When we started the project, we estimated the expected savings or increased efficiency after analytical part of the Cost-/Value driver Analysis and than after implementation approximately at 760.000 €. After completion of the first phase of the project, the achieved result was increased efficiency for 2 mio €.

In the second phase of the project - "Business Process Analysis" - we set a goal: to eliminate 20% of activities in processes or shortening the duration of single process. To achieve this goal we followed the next four steps: description of current processes, graphical display of current processes; optimization with elimination of nonprofit activities and the last step, with help of Brainstorming, radical changing of single process. The results of each process are different, depending on the current situation and possibilities of short-term changes. We estimated the reduction of activities for 48%. The implementation of renewed processes is on the run at this moment (end of 2004).«

Sava Trade d.d.
Mr Dušan Kveder, manager
A reference opinion for the Management consulting company, 2004:

»Successful outside consultants, like consulting company Dr. Ferk & Partner, are of substantial meaning for retaining the level of competitiveness of our company on global markets.«

»1.5 million dollars savings a year.«

»The workers were making what they were told to make and forgot all about work, when they finished and went home. Dr. Ferk encouraged them to start thinking about the efficiency of their work, the purpose of each operation. Each individual determines by himself what can be improved. I could say that he trained people - including me - : the employees to think and me to listen. [...] The accomplishment of dr. Ferk is the fact, that he encourages creative thinking. Everyone that works also makes mistakes. If some company finds itself in crisis and the manager makes mistakes, which means the employees make mistakes too. But everyone sees other's faults first. Dr. Ferk knows how to provoke people. At the beginning they all say, that nothing can really be improved and then he challenges them: "Now is your chance to suggest improvements, use it!" By introducing improvements of one group to another, he encourages healthy competition. When the first sector suggested their improvements there was an avalanche. At my opinion we witnessed some kind of moral deflowering. We all looked for a scapegoat in the past. Now we are looking at current situation and there is not a thing in the company that won't be touched. The atmosphere has change completely. Even when the employees point out the mistakes of someone else, that does not mean they are accusing this person or sector. Everyone that notices a mistake also suggests how to improve it. People were writing their suggestions day and night. Everyone suggested improvements. [...] We've implemented approximately 80% of all suggested improvements, but what is more important, these improvements have encouraged new thinking and new suggestions. A never-ending process has begun. And that's ok since competition battle on the market will never end.«

For even greater efficiency of business conduct in Trimo, this has increased its total income by 14% to 23 billion tolars last year, net profit of 785 mio by 29%, added value per employee of 10,45 mio by 37,6%, while profitability of capital and resources was twice as better than the average of all Slovenian economy, they inducted a new method of complete optimization of business processes.