Evaluating Operational Challenges
Two business partners or a business owner and a consultant discuss current operational bottlenecks, supply chain issues, or staffing challenges affecting their small business.
Dialogue
Listen and follow along with the conversation
Vocabulary
Essential words and phrases from the dialogue
bottleneck
A bottleneck is a point in a process where things slow down or get stuck, causing delays. In business, it's often used to describe the main problem affecting efficiency, like in supply chains.
turnaround time
Turnaround time means the time it takes to complete a process, such as delivering goods. If it increases, it means things are taking longer than before.
inventory management
Inventory management is the process of ordering, storing, and using a company's stock of products. It's important for businesses to avoid running out or having too much.
stockouts
Stockouts happen when a store or business runs out of a product that customers want. This can lead to lost sales and unhappy customers.
forecasting
Forecasting is predicting future sales or demand for products. Accurate forecasting helps businesses plan how much stock to keep.
streamline
To streamline means to make a process simpler and more efficient, reducing waste or delays. Businesses often streamline operations to save time and money.
predictive analytics
Predictive analytics uses data and software to forecast future trends or events. In business, it helps predict customer demand more accurately.
diversifying
Diversifying means spreading out risks by using different options or suppliers. In business, it helps avoid problems if one provider fails.
Key Sentences
Important phrases to remember and practice
I wanted to dig deeper into some of the operational challenges we've been facing.
This sentence uses 'dig deeper' as an idiom meaning to investigate more thoroughly. It's useful for starting business discussions about problems. The present perfect 'we've been facing' shows ongoing issues.
It seems the main bottleneck is our third-party logistics provider.
This is a way to state an observation based on evidence. 'It seems' softens the statement to sound less certain. Useful for reporting findings in meetings. 'Third-party' means an external company providing services.
Are we still running into issues with stockouts on popular items?
This question uses 'running into issues' to mean encountering problems. The present continuous 'are we still running' checks for ongoing situations. Great for business check-ins about persistent challenges.
Our forecasting isn't quite accurate enough, leading to both stockouts and sometimes overstocking.
This sentence shows cause and effect with 'leading to.' 'Isn't quite accurate enough' is a polite way to say something is not good enough. Useful for explaining business errors and their results.
We need to streamline that. Have we explored any new inventory tracking software?
The first part is a direct suggestion with 'need to.' The question uses 'have we explored' in present perfect to ask about past actions up to now. Ideal for proposing improvements in operations.
It could significantly reduce those forecasting errors.
This uses 'could' for possibility and 'significantly reduce' to show a big improvement. It's a positive way to suggest benefits of a solution. Common in business proposals.
Diversifying our options seems like a smart move right now.
'Seems like' expresses an opinion. 'Smart move' is an idiom for a wise decision. This sentence is useful for agreeing on strategies to manage risks in business.