News

Arūnas Žilys, CFO of LTG Cargo

Let's talk about efficiency – what it really is, who really needs it, when they need it and what we often confuse it with.

First and foremost, efficiency is a means, not an end. If I had to define efficiency in my own words, I would describe it as follows: it is the creation of a unit of a certain required level of quality with the least possible resources: financial, time, competences, etc. At the same time, let's be clear that efficiency is not about cutting costs or giving up certain things in order to save resources.

What is the required quality? The answer is simple: it is the customer who evaluates and determines the quality of your services or products. Ideally, the curves representing these two variables – quality and resources – intersect. This happens when the business grows and the customer experience and satisfaction improve. This is the clearest sign that you’re heading in the right direction with your efficiency solutions.

Customers are also the best judges of business efficiency. Naturally, after taking a particular action, it’s tempting to celebrate, but first and foremost, it’s important to turn to the customers and ask: have you felt the benefits? Of course, shareholders must also answer this same question in the affirmative.

In my opinion, when it comes to efficiency in organizations and putting it into practice, there are three key factors:

1) Every department in the organization must understand the impact of numbers and efficiency. This is important because, when people know why certain measures are being taken, decisions become clearer. Everyone can get involved in pursuing the same goals, which are equally understood by all. Efficiency must be measured and communicated.

2) Efficiency cannot be an end in itself. It is not simply the pursuit of lofty, ambitious goals, a personal objective, or something you can write about on LinkedIn. Efficiency is necessary to remain competitive and to best meet the expectations of customers and shareholders on both sides of the spectrum of needs. It is a tool for business resilience that unlocks new opportunities.

3) If we start thinking about efficiency measures only when business results are noticeably deteriorating, it is already too late. Efficiency is often understood as cost reduction, but hasty cost-cutting leads to mistakes, causes frustration, and forces the business into survival mode. Efficiency must be leveraged at the right time to help you grow in a competitive environment, not just to survive.

Continuous improvement – that’s what we at LTG Cargo call our culture of organisational excellence. However, efficiency can also be described as continuous improvement in the sense that it has no limits – it is not a one-off, finite task that allows you to take a breather once it’s done. The world is changing at a frantic pace; customers and their expectations are changing, and different efficiency needs are emerging. The key is to be aware of this and to take action when you seem to be in your comfort zone, and also to ensure that decisions do not overshadow or limit the potential for business development.

That "happy medium" - the ideal balance between quality and allocated resources – is also achieved when we use efficiency as a tool for expansion and the creation of new services. It can be said that at LTG Cargo, we are on the path to that “happy medium” – still experiencing the growing pains of adolescence, but already seeing the results of our efforts. This is a huge achievement, on which we

are building our development plans, to better exploit the market potential, expand and offer new services to our customers.

Let efficiency be the driver for a better customer experience. In closing, I’d like to encourage readers to take concrete steps today so that you can feel confident about tomorrow.