Blog

Practical articles for SME owners on operational efficiency, process audits, and fixed-fee consulting. Written by the founder.

Case Study / Manufacturing

Case Study: How an Operational Audit Cut Warranty Claims by 79% at a European Bathroom Equipment Manufacturer

A family-owned European SME, founded in the late 1980s, had survived four decades and the slow downscaling that comes with a satisfied owner. Over a 10-month engagement from June 2025 to March 2026, En Garde Consulting reduced warranty claims on a flagship product line from 11.5% to 2.4%, lifted gross margin per unit on the same line by approximately 40%, eliminated regulatory fines that had been recurring for years, and brought average claim resolution time from above the legal response threshold to well within it. One employee was permanently freed from operational firefighting and reassigned to research and development.

Petar Zivkovic, Founder | Principal Consultant · 27 April 2026
Operational efficiency

Operational Audit for SMEs: What the Organizational Healthcheck 360 Delivers

A 2 to 3 week, fixed-price operational audit that maps how work actually flows through your company, scores each process for risk and impact, checks how well you are using your data, and hands you a tailored roadmap. Standalone product. No hourly billing. No scope creep mid-engagement. The deliverables are yours to keep, whether you continue with us or not.

Petar Zivkovic, Founder | Principal Consultant · 24 April 2026
How to hire a consultant

Fixed-fee vs hourly consulting for SMEs: which works in practice?

Hourly billing is the consulting industry default. For small and medium businesses, it quietly creates the wrong incentives on both sides. Predictive billing is not always cheaper, but it is almost always more honest.

Petar Zivkovic, Founder | Principal Consultant · 24 April 2026
Operational efficiency

How small and medium businesses build Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Tribal knowledge is not a feature of close-knit SME teams; it is an unmanaged risk. A practical guide to turning what is in your veterans' heads into something the business owns.

Petar Zivkovic, Founder | Principal Consultant · 24 April 2026