AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH ON PRIORITIZING INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS WITHIN SMEs

Increasing business performance is usually a challenge for SME management teams, as they are often in the position to finance more internal improvement projects than the available budget allows. Moreover, this budget should be specifically allocated to those areas in which the maximum added value can be obtained (or where the most performance issues can be fixed). At the same time, the management team can nearly any time identify improvement projects whose implementation overcomes the financial possibilities of the company. Some improvement projects, although more expensive or difficult, may have a greater value for the company. Therefore it would be extremely useful to find a way to effectively identify and prioritize those projects with the highest impact on the business. This paper introduces a prioritization algorithm (based on competitive engineering and business excellence assessment tools) which supports the management team in identifying improvement processes and to decide which ones should be carried out first in order to gain the best possible results. An application example (based on this algorithm) within a SME in the electromechanical domain is also presented.