Business Health & Strategic Planning

Business Health & Strategic Planning

Improve Business Practices and Develop New Strategic Opportunities

  • Does your organization have an effective strategic plan?
  • Could you grow your business through new markets or technology?
  • Are there opportunities to review and improve upon your business operations?
Employees-On-A-Gemba-Walk

To stay competitive in the marketplace, manufacturing leaders should always consider how they can grow and innovate. Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) at Georgia Tech business health and strategy experts help leaders identify new ways to grow their businesses through innovation management, technology integration, improvements to business operations, and strategic planning for manufacturing companies.

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Strategic Planning Development and Deployment

Strategic Plan Development
& Deployment

Work with a strategic planning consultant to utilize Hoshin Kanri or another strategic planning methodology to develop and deploy a strategic plan that aligns your organization and ensures that everyone is working toward the same business goals.

GaMEP will work with you on a proven process designed for strategic planning for manufacturing companies. This four-step process starts with the vision and mission of your organization and continues through deployment and assessment.

The progression includes:

  • Discovery stage: Meet with leadership to scan the business environment and gain valuable insights on the organization.
  • Development stage: Identify where your company wants to be in three years, find common themes, develop up to four strategic priorities, and generate key performance indicators.  
  • Deployment stage: Focus on the first-year priorities, align resources to achieve them while maintaining the current business, and create a communication plan for the organization.
  • Management stage: Discuss how to manage to the plan over time, make appropriate revisions, and ensure that progress is made toward achieving the plan.

In addition to facilitating the four stages, a GaMEP strategic planning consultant will conduct a follow-up session for process check-in.

By using our strategic planning development & deployment services, you will:

  • Create a plan based on your goals
  • Develop an actionable implementation process
  • Set and work towards realistic goals
  • Inspire your team
Business Operations Coaching

Business Operations Coaching

Partner with a trusted advisor to enhance business operations or tackle challenges like succession planning, acquisitions, or integrations. Coaches work with manufacturing leaders to identify issues, implement best practices, and foster a culture of continuous improvement, ultimately driving growth and success.

GaMEP business operations coaches provide unbiased feedback and fresh perspectives, helping leaders identify blind spots and areas for improvement. Coaches also assist in developing essential leadership skills and offer support during significant organizational changes such as post-acquisition business integration or changes in top leadership.

GaMEP will:

  • Meet with your leadership team to understand the current state of your business and discuss future goals.
  • Help leaders assess and navigate challenges and opportunities with an unbiased perspective.
  • Provide support and expertise in manufacturing operations, leadership development, and business strategy.

By working with a GaMEP business operations coach, you will:

  • Gain a trusted advisor to discuss key business decision
  • Enhance your leadership team with additional expertise and experience
  • Prepare your company for growth or transition
Human Resource Optimization

Human Resource Optimization

Strategically manage and optimize your workforce to maximize productivity, efficiency, and overall performance. Implement processes and best practices to help your organization achieve compliance with employment law, improve recruitment practices, decrease turnover, and increase employee engagement.

Aside from recruitment and onboarding, many manufacturers fail to focus on their most valuable resource: people. However, when companies invest in people development and optimizing human resources, all areas of the business improve. 

Our customized human resources services take a holistic approach to talent management, based on the “ARMI” approach:

  • Attraction
  • Retention
  • Management of people
  • Culture of Innovation

By implementing our approach to human resource optimization you can:

  • Decrease turnover
  • Improve employee engagement
  • Increase productivity
  • Become an employer of choice

Organizational Excellence Assessment

Holistically assess your company and how to most effectively implement positive changes. Gain an unbiased look at your company, identifying your organization’s strengths and opportunities for improvement, and obtain a road map for closing those gaps to meet your short- and long-term goals.
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The Organizational Excellence Assessment evaluates your company’s business health, leadership, organizational alignment, and adoption of advanced processes and technology. Once your leadership team understands how your company is performing, GaMEP can help you determine the next steps for long-term improvement and growth.

GaMEP will:

  • Administer an online self-assessment to gain preliminary information.
  • Conduct a one- to two-day on-site assessment that includes talking to individuals across the organization and observing the shop floor.
  • Provide a detailed report summarizing the top three to five focus items and a recommendation for the most impactful starting point.

By utilizing GaMEP’s Organizational Excellence Assessment and follow-up, you will:

  • Gain a holistic and realistic look at your company
  • Assess strengths and opportunities
  • Pinpoint and prioritize organizational needs

Technology
Scouting

Utilize a systematic approach to identify, evaluate, and integrate new technologies to enhance your production processes, solve problems, or add new capabilities. This proactive approach helps manufacturers stay ahead of industry trends and leverage innovative solutions for growth.

Do you have a challenge with your product or process that new technology could help you solve? GaMEP technology scouting services help you find the right technology to fill a need within your operations. By evaluating multiple options, you can be assured you find not just a solution but the best solution to meet your goals.

GaMEP will:

  • Locate potential partners or technologies to meet your needs.
  • Categorize and prioritize possible solutions.
  • Develop a cost-effective way to evaluate each option.

By using technology scouting, you can:

  • Connect with partners
  • Develop new products
  • Improve your processes
  • Grow your business

Technology Driven Market Intelligence (TDMI)

Investigate potential markets for your unique technology, capability, or intellectual property to find new customers and grow your business. By analyzing market trends, customer needs, and competitive landscapes, TDMI helps you optimize product development efforts and make informed decisions.

Have you developed an underutilized technology that you are interested in licensing or selling? GaMEP TDMI services can help you find a market for it, allowing you to target the right audience and connect with new customers.

GaMEP will help you:

  • Clearly define your technology’s capabilities and potential uses.
  • Understand the market for your technology or capability.
  • Develop strategies to market your technology to new audiences.

By utilizing TDMI services you can:

  • Make informed product development decisions
  • Find new customers
  • Improve profitability of your new technology solution

Innovation Process
Management

Design an actionable methodology for developing and examining new ideas. Create a process to ideate, test, maintain, and sustain a pipeline of innovation so that you are spending your time and resources on profitable business-development projects.


How does your company manage innovation? By utilizing an innovation process-management system, you will create an unbiased process through which to ideate, test, maintain, and sustain a pipeline of innovation. You will ensure that you are spending time and resources on the right ideas that will promote the future growth of your company.

GaMEP will help you:

  • Review your growth objectives and strategic goals.
  • Collect existing and new ideas from a cross-functional team in your company.
  • Teach you how to weed out ideas that would take up too much time, money, and resources.
  • Establish a pipeline for continuous idea development and tracking.
  • Create a repeatable innovation process.

By using our innovation process management services, you will:

  • Create an innovation process
  • Enable an innovative culture
  • Gain a pipeline of actionable ideas

Federal Grant Assistance Programs for Manufacturers

Have an idea but not sure how finance it? The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are federal funding opportunities that provide non-dilutive research funding to help businesses advance research and development, while proving product feasibility.

For more information and to find out if you qualify, contact us or visit https://atdc.org/overview/capital/.

Business Health & Strategic Planning Training & Events

GaMEP hosts events and training courses designed specifically for manufacturers.
View our upcoming events and open enrollment training sessions below.
Looking for customized training options? Contact your region manager for more information.

Developing Metrics that Matter to Motivate Performance

Translate business and manufacturing information in a way that improves decision-making and guides the organization toward achieving its strategic objectives.

October 19-20, 2026
Online
$850.00
Learn More & Register

Facilitating Effective Employee Training

Examine ways to train and communicate effectively with employees as part of a strategic plan for organizational excellence.
October 28, 2026
Online
$395.00
Learn More & Register

Success Stories

Articles

Stay Informed

GaMEP’s monthly Manufacturing Connect newsletter contains articles/white papers, latest industry news, upcoming training courses and events, tools and resources, and more.

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Ready to get started?

GaMEP divides the state into ten regions led by region managers, who live and work within the region they serve. Contact your Region Manager or fill out our Contact Us form and a GaMEP team member will get in touch with you shortly.

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