How broken workflows create cash flow and fulfilment crises

Executive overview

When core processes break down, problems don't stay contained — they ripple outward and compound. Two cases illustrate this: a fulfilment bottleneck caused by sequential processing, and a public company burning cash despite being profitable.

The fix in both cases required getting into the weeds, mapping what was actually happening, and restructuring handoffs between departments.

Broken cross-functional handoffs are the hidden cause of most operational crises.

Order fulfilment bottleneck: the photocopies fix

• Post-trade-show orders were processed sequentially by one person, creating weeks of delay
• First instinct — hire more people — was wrong; the person wasn't busy every day
• Root cause: departments were waiting on each other instead of working in parallel
• Simple fix: photocopy each order so multiple departments could process simultaneously
• Form redesign eliminated data-entry errors introduced at the trade shows
• Switched to a four-part NCR form so copies were automatic — no more photocopying needed

Quote-to-cash breakdown at a public company

• Company was profitable but rapidly running out of cash
• Sales was winning deals on terms operations and accounting couldn't fulfil
• Improvised custom terms created downstream execution failures and delayed invoicing
• Fix: operations and accounting gave sales a defined menu of what could actually be delivered
• Any off-menu request required pre-approval before being promised to a customer
• Result: timely invoicing, faster collection, cash position stabilised

What to do when a process is broken

• Observe what's actually happening, not what you think the process is
• Bring people from different departments together to map the real flow
• Assign one person accountable for each cross-functional process end-to-end
• Look for sequential steps that can be parallelised
• Redesign inputs (forms, terms, constraints) to prevent errors at the source