SSA & Company Shows Companies How to Hunt for Cash

New York, April 24, 2009 - SSA & Company, the consulting organization that introduced Lean Six Sigma to the world’s largest corporations, has launched ”Cash Hunt,” an unconventional and rigorous way companies can quickly free up cash.

The Cash Hunt system is an intense 3-week assessment that lets an organization identify and prioritize its cash flow opportunities. The unique methodology SSA & Company deploys opens up an entirely new window on cross-functional end-to-end payment cycles.  The assessment is followed by a series of rapid improvements that typically deliver a 5x or more return on investment.

“In the midst of the toughest economy in memory, every company needs to figure out new ways to hunt down cash,” says David Fuente, former CEO of Office Depot and now Chairman with SSA & Company.

“Most companies believe it takes months to free up cash,” says Sy Fahimi, Managing Director of SSA & Company’s West Coast office. “Our Cash Hunt system frees up cash in weeks.”

Fahimi was one of the lead developers of the Cash Hunt system. As the former CEO of an internet marketing company based in Silicon Valley, Fahimi experienced these issues first hand.  His success in understanding cash flow has made him highly sought after by companies that need to improve their cash position. Yet most organizations fail to get it right.

According to Fahimi, there are four specific challenges companies face when trying to increase cash flow in their organizations:

• Lack of understanding around cross functional, end-to-end cash flow processes
• Low visibility of cash-in and cash-out velocity
• Little to no optimization of key vendor management issues (terms, etc.)
• Inefficient systems (redundant resources or extraneous rework)

“SSA & Company’s approach helps make companies smart, fast and efficient in how they manage their cash,” says Fahimi.  “I’ve seen companies save millions of dollars and improve their cash balance by upwards of 30% by using this approach.  In today’s marketplace, that can mean the difference between excelling and surviving.”