Snow White and Seven and 3/4ths

Snow White and Seven and 3/4ths

Once upon a time there was a girl named Snow White who was sent into the forest, by her father, to gather seven bundles of sticks to use in the stove and in the fireplace. This was one of several chores she had to do each day. It was important that she gather all seven bundles, as that is exactly how much heat it took to cook and keep the cottage warm throughout the day and into the night.

Every morning she would wander into the forest and gather sticks and tie them in to bundles that she would carry back home on her back. She had devised a way of tying the rope around the sticks so that there was a yoke strap for her shoulders so as to keep her hands free.

One day as she was carrying the last bundle home she thought about how much more she could carry with her hands. So, she set the bundle down and began to gather together a few more sticks. She figured that this new bundle could be at least ¾ the size of the bundle she carried on her back.

Then she thought about how adding an additional ¾ size bundle of sticks would save on the number of trips to the forest each day. If she brought home an extra ¾ bundle of sticks with each trip she would increase the amount of available wood for the week by 5 bundles, which meant that she would only have to gather 2 bundles the week after. She was thrilled with her ingenuity, as was her father, and on rainy days she did not have to go gather anything unless they were short on wood.

The Moral of the fable: If there is a way to increase the product inventory for those rainy days ahead, why not do the math and calculate the savings instead?

NOTE: Every business wants to better understand how they can improve their processes to enhance their performance toward saving time. Time is money and money must not be wasted.

Understanding measurables can save time, energy and money.