Peak is featured in the SB Tribune

South Bend Tribune Weekly
August 11. 2008 6:59AM

Consulting Firm Wants to Help Businesses Run Better

By JENNIFER OCHSTEINTribune Correspondent

Brad Staats wants to see manufacturers reach their peak value.To help companies realize this goal, Staats started his consulting firm, Peak Enterprise Solutions, just more than a year ago.“We work with manufacturing companies to help them run better businesses,” said Staats.While he and the consultants who work with him don’t touch finance, human resource, sales or engineering aspects of a company, Peak Enterprise Solutions deals with the rest of the business processes. “From the time the order is made from the time it is shipped — we deal with all the processes involved in running a business,” he added.

Staats and the consultants he works with work in four business practice areas: business consulting, which includes enterprise resource planning; lean manufacturing planning and implementation; systems solutions and educational programs.A resident of LaPorte for the past 20 years, Staats said he started the company partly because he saw a need for it within a 100-mile radius of South Bend.“I feel there is a lot of opportunity to help companies, and I wanted to keep consulting,” Staats said. “I saw a market for it.”

With 25 years experience in consulting and manufacturing management, Staats started consulting in the steel industry, deciding to go into business for himself in April of 2007.While there are three active consultants associated with Peak Enterprise Solutions, Staats has no employees. He said the three form an association of consultants that offer expertise in different areas of manufacturing. Staats calls in different consultants to differing business situations.

His company’s services are based on “rate of return” and savings to his customers. His goal is to save his customers “more than what they’re paying us. We want to bring value to a company.”That means that his fees cannot be justified if the company doesn’t see a savings after his services are rendered. And Staats said he believes he can help his customers see savings in the companies by helping them improve and streamline their business processes and strategies. On top of that, Staats offers a free, one-day analysis to customers to determine whether he can help them. It gives him and the executives of a company a chance to talk and for Staats to propose any savings he can bring the company through his work with them.“We can see each other firsthand and understand each other” with a meeting like this, said Staats.

He believes what makes his company unique is the methodological approach he takes to implement strategies and educate employees, which includes team building, supervisory skills, effective communication and time management classes.For instance, when helping implement a lean business model into a company, he has a step-by-step process he follows based on the needs of the company. His methodology also takes on a holistic approach, working with everyone in the company from executives to those who work the shop floor. And he can oversee the entire project with a bird’s-eye view through project management.“This is my one focus — to keep everyone on task and to keep moving forward for the project,” Staats said.

For more information, contact Staats at (574) 232-3610 or visit his Web site at www.peakindiana.com.