What is an example of optimization in business?

You know what’s funny? When most people hear “business optimisation,” their eyes glaze over. They picture complicated spreadsheets, management consultants in expensive suits, and buzzwords flying everywhere.

But here’s the thing – optimisation is actually dead simple. It’s just doing things better, faster, or cheaper without sacrificing quality. That’s it.

I’ve seen tiny corner shops optimise their operations just as cleverly as massive corporations. The principles are the same, just at different scales.

Let me walk you through some proper, real-world examples of business optimisation that actually make sense. No jargon, no waffle – just stuff that works.

What Does Business Optimisation Actually Mean?

Before we dive into examples, let’s get clear on what we’re talking about.

Business optimisation is basically:
Making your business work better by identifying what’s slowing you down, costing too much, or producing waste, then fixing it.

It’s NOT about:

• Working your staff into the ground
• Cutting corners on quality
• Being cheap for the sake of being cheap
• Making things complicated with unnecessary technology

It IS about:

• Getting the same results with less effort
• Improving results with the same resources
• Eliminating stuff that doesn’t add value
• Making everyone’s life easier, including your customers.

Think of it like this – if your business were a car journey from London to Manchester, optimisation is finding the route that gets you there faster, using less fuel, with fewer traffic jams, while still arriving safely.

Real Example 1: Amazon’s Warehouse Layout Optimisation

Right, let’s start with one everyone knows – Amazon.

The problem they faced:
Workers in warehouses were walking absolutely miles every day picking items for orders. Some employees were doing 15-20 miles on foot per shift. Mental, right?

What they optimised:
They completely reorganised how products are stored and how picking routes are planned.

How they did it:

Instead of putting all the books together, all the electronics together, etc. (which seems logical), they use what looks like complete chaos.

• Fast-moving items are stored closer to packing stations
• Slow-moving itemsare  further away
• Items frequently bought together are positioned near each other
• Computer algorithms constantly reorganise based on purchase patterns
• Robots now bring shelves to workers instead of workers walking to shelves

The results:

• Walking distance cut by up to 50%
• Orders fulfilled faster
• Workers are less exhausted (though still working hard)
• More orders processed per square foot of warehouse

What you can learn from this:

You don’t need robots and algorithms. But you CAN look at your workspace and ask: “Are we making people walk, reach, or search more than necessary?”

A mate of mine runs a small garage. He noticed his mechanics were constantly walking back and forth to the tool room. He spent £200 on mobile tool carts for each bay. Saved hours every week. Simple optimisation.

Real Example 2: McDonald’s Kitchen Process Optimisation

Love them or hate them, McDonald’s is absolutely brilliant at optimisation.

What they optimised:
The entire kitchen workflow and cooking process.

The specific changes:

Batch cooking with demand prediction:
They don’t just cook burgers randomly. They use data from previous days/times to predict demand and cook accordingly.

Assembly line approach:

• One person toasts buns
• Another adds condiments
• Another adds meat
• Someone else wraps
• Everyone’s doing one task efficiently rather than making whole burgers individually

Kitchen layout:
Everything is positioned so that the person using it most frequently is closest to it. The grill operator doesn’t have to walk past the fryer to get buns.

Standardised processes:
Every burger is made the same way, every time, anywhere in the world. New staff learn faster, and quality stays consistent.

The results:

• Orders fulfilled in minutes, not tens of minutes
• Consistent quality
• Lower training costs
• Ability to handle rush periods
• Less food waste

What you can steal from this:

Break down your processes into steps. Look at each step and ask:

• Does this add value for the customer?
• Could it be done faster?
• Could it be combined with another step?
• Is the person doing it positioned efficiently?
• Could it be standardised so anyone can do it?

Real Example 3: Zara’s Supply Chain Optimisation

This one’s fascinating because it goes against conventional retail wisdom.

Traditional fashion retail:
Design clothes months in advance → Manufacture in Asia (cheap) → Ship by sea (slow but cheap) → Hope you got the trends right

Zara’s optimised approach:
Design quickly → Manufacture close to home (Spain, Portugal, Morocco) → Ship by truck/air → Get products in shops within 2-3 weeks

Why this works:

Speed beats cost:
Yes, manufacturing in Europe costs more. But being able to respond to trends in weeks instead of months means:

• Less unsold stock (waste)
• Fewer markdowns (better margins)
• Always having what customers actually want right now

The numbers:

• Traditional retailers markdown 30-40% of stock
• Zara markdowns less than 15%
• New designs in stores twice a week
• Average item stays in store 3-4 weeks before selling out

What you can learn:

Sometimes the “cheapest” option isn’t actually the most efficient. Fast and flexible can beat cheap and slow.

A bakery near me switched from ordering industrial quantities of ingredients monthly (cheaper per unit) to smaller weekly orders from a local supplier. Cost per unit went up 8%, but waste from stale ingredients dropped 40%. Net result? Better profits AND fresher products.

Real Example 4: Ryanair’s Operational Optimisation

Now, Ryanair gets loads of stick for being no-frills, but their optimisation is genuinely clever.

What they optimised:
Literally everything to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Specific optimisations:

Fleet standardisation:

• Only fly Boeing 737s (one type)
• Same training for all pilots
• Same parts inventory needed
• Same maintenance procedures
• Massive bulk discounts on aircraft

Turnaround time:

• Target 25-minute turnaround (many airlines need 45-60 minutes)
• More flights per day fromthe  same aircraft
• No seat assignments (faster boarding)
• No free meals (no catering trucks needed)

Route optimisation:

• Use secondary airports (cheaper, less congested)
• Point-to-point routes (no hub complexity)
• High-demand routes only
• Fill seats with dynamic pricing

The results:

• Lowest cost per passenger in Europe
• Highest aircraft utilisation
• Profitable even with £20 flights
• Carry more passengers than any European airline

What’s transferable:

Standardisation saves money. If you’re doing things five different ways, you’re wasting resources.

I know a plumber who used to stock fittings for every brand of boiler. He switched to only working with three main brands. His van’s organised, he knows those systems inside out, jobs are faster, and he carries less stock. Customers are happier because he’s more expert.

Pro Tip: Tech Stack Standardisation

Ryanair only uses one type of plane (Boeing 737). In your business, this is what I call “Tech Stack Standardisation.”

If you’re using five different apps for the same task, you’re losing money on training and subscriptions. Pick one and stick to it.

I’ve seen businesses paying for Slack, Teams, WhatsApp Business, and two other messaging platforms. They’re spending £200/month, and nobody knows where to find anything. Choose one. Train everyone on it. Cancel the rest. Simple.

Real Example 5: Domino’s Pizza Tracker Optimisation

This one’s interesting because it’s not just internal – it’s customer-facing optimisation.

The problem:
Customersare  constantly calling to ask, “Where’s my pizza?” Tied up phone lines, annoyed customers, stressed staff.

The solution:
The pizza tracker systeshowsng exactly where your order is in the process.

What it actually optimised:

Customer anxiety:
People can SEE their order being made. They’re not wondering, so they don’t call.

Phone capacity:
Fewer calls means phone lines available for new orders.

Staff stress:
Not constantly answering “where’s my order?” calls.

Trust:
Transparency builds confidence in the process.

The bonus effect:
It actually gamified the process. Staff compete for faster times. Customers share tracker screenshots on social media (free marketing).

The lesson:

Sometimes optimisation isn’t about doing things faster – it’s about reducing friction and anxiety in the process.

An electrician I know started sending text updates: “On my way,” “Starting work,” “Job complete.” Takes 30 seconds per job, but customer complaints dropped to basically zero, and reviews improved massively.

Real Example 6: Buffer’s Email Response Optimisation

Let’s look at something smaller-scale that any business can copy.

Buffer (social media tool company) had a problem:
Their customer support team was drowning in repetitive emails asking the same questions.

Their optimisation:

Created saved replies:
Pre-written responses to common questions that staff could use with one click, then personalise.

Built a comprehensive help centre:
Detailed articles answering common questions. When someone emails, they link the article plus add personal context.

Implemented chatbots for simple stuff:
Password resets, billing questions, band asic how-tos are handled automatically.

Freed up humans for complex issues:
Support team now spends time on actual problems, not “How do I reset my password?” for the 50th time.

The results:

• Response time dropped from hours to minutes
• Customer satisfaction UP (not down)
• The support team is less stressed
• Same team handling 3x more customers

How you can use this:

Look at what questions you get asked repeatedly. Create:

• An FAQ page
• Email templates for common responses
• Video tutorials for common issues
• A knowledge base

Saves you time and gives customers instant answers.

Real Example 7: Supermarket Layout Optimisation

Ever wondered why milk is at the back of every supermarket? That’s optimisation (for their profit, not your convenience).

What they’ve optimised:

High-demand items at the back:

• Milk, bread, and eggs at the rear
• You walk past everything else to get there
• More opportunities for impulse purchases

Eye-level placement:

• Most profitable items at adult eye level
• Kids’ cereals at kids’ eye level
• Cheaper options on the bottom shelves

End-of-aisle displays:

• Products they want to shift
• Create an impression of deals/specials
• Catch you as you turn corners

Product grouping:

• Wine near cheese
• Pasta near the sauce
• Batteries near toys
• Cross-selling opportunities

Wide aisles near the entrance:

• Narrow as you go deeper
• Wide aisles = slower shopping (browsing)
• Narrow = faster (you know what you want)

The lesson for your business:

Think about the customer journey through your business. Are you making the most of every touchpoint?

A friend owns a gym. He moved the smoothie bar from the entrance to the changing room exit. Sales tripled. Everyone passes it after working out (when they’re thinking about health), not when arriving (thinking about parking).

Common Areas Where Businesses Can Optimise

Let me give you a quick checklist of areas where almost any business can find optimisation opportunities:

Time Management

Look at:

• Meetings (are they necessary? Could they be emails?)
• Approval processes (how many sign-offs do you really need?)
• Reporting (are people spending hours on reports nobody reads?)

Quick win:
Track how you spend your time for a week. You’ll be shocked at how much gets wasted.

Inventory Management

Optimise:

• Stock levels (not too much, not too little)
• Reorder points (automatic rather than manual)
• Storage (is finding stuff easy?)
• Waste/spoilage

Real example:
A corner shop owner I know switched to daily bread deliveries instead of twice-weekly. Costs slightly more in delivery fees, but waste dropped from 20% to under 3%. Much better margins.

Customer Acquisition

Questions to ask:

• Which marketing channel brings the best customers?
• What’s your cost per acquisition for each channel?
• Where are you wasting marketing budget?

Table: Marketing Channel Effectiveness

Focus on what works. Ditch what doesn’t.

Staff Productivity

Not about squeezing more out of people, but removing barriers:

• Do they have the right tools?
• Are processes clear?
• Can decisions be made without waiting for approval?
• Is training adequate?
• Are meetings eating up their productive time?

Example:
A design agency I worked with had designers waiting days for client feedback. They implemented a 48-hour feedback deadline with auto-approval if missed. Projects completed 30% faster.

Technology Use

Optimisation questions:

• Are you using software you’re paying for?
• Could processes be automated?
• Are you using outdated systems that slow you down?
• Could different tools work better together?

Real scenario:
A small accountancy firm was using four different software systems that didn’t talk to each other. Staff spent hours manually transferring data. They switched to one integrated system. Costs about the same, saved 10 hours per week.

Automate the Boring Stuff:

Here’s the truth – if you’re typing the same email every single day, you’re not optimising, you’re just working hard for no reason.

Think about it. How many times do you write “Thanks for your enquiry, here’s our pricing…” or “Just following up on…” or “Your order has been dispatched…”?

Use tools like:

• TextExpander – Type a shortcut, get a full paragraph
• Email templates in Gmail or Outlook
• Canned responses for common questions
• Zapier to connect apps and automate workflows

I know a recruitment consultant who was spending 2 hours daily on follow-up emails. She created 8 email templates for different scenarios. Now it takes 20 minutes. That’s 1 hour 40 minutes saved EVERY DAY. Over a year? That’s basically 6 extra weeks of productive time.

Stop typing the same thing twice. Seriously.

How to Actually Implement Optimisation in Your Business

Right, examples are great, but how do YOU actually do this?

Step 1: Measure Current State

You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Pick ONE process or area and track:

• How long does it takes
• How much does it costs
• Error rates
• Customer complaints
• Staff frustration levels

Example:
If you’re optimising order fulfilment, track how long from order received to order shipped, and what’s causing delays.

Step 2: Identify Bottlenecks

Look for:

• Where work piles up and waits
• What staff complain about most
• Where errors happen frequently
• What customers moan about

The 80/20 rule applies:
Usually, 20% of your problems cause 80% of your headaches. Find and fix those first.

Step 3: Generate Solutions

Ask people doing the work:
They know what’s broken better than management does.

Brainstorm options:

• What if we didn’t do this at all?
• What if we did it in a different order?
• What if we automated it?
• What if we outsourced it?
• What if we standardised it?

Step 4: Test Small

Don’t overhaul everything at once.

Pick one small change. Test it. Measure results. If it works, expand. If it doesn’t, try something else.

Example:
Don’t redesign your entire website. Test one changed element (headline, button colour, layout) and see if it performs better.

Step 5: Make it Stick

Document the new process:

• Write it down
• Train everyone
• Make it the standard
• Review regularly

Without this step, people revert to old habits within weeks.

Common Optimisation Mistakes to Avoid

I’ve seen these disasters happen:

Optimising the wrong thing:
Making a process 50% faster when that process shouldn’t exist at all.

Over-complicating:
Adding technology or steps that create more problems than they solve.

Ignoring people:
Optimising on paper without considering human factors. People aren’t robots.

Optimising in isolation:
Making one department faster but creating bottlenecks elsewhere.

Death by analysis:
Spending six months analysing instead of testing changes.

Forgetting customers:
Optimising for YOUR convenience while making customer experience worse.

Quick Optimisation Cheat Sheet

Here’s a simple table showing traditional ways of doing things versus optimised approaches. Stick this on your wall:

How to use this:

Pick ONE row that applies to your business. Just one. Implement the optimised way this week. Next week, pick another. By the end of the quarter, you’ll have transformed multiple areas without overwhelming yourself.

Final Thoughts: Start Small, Think Big

Look, business optimisation sounds like this huge, complicated thing that only big companies with consultants can do.

Bollocks.

Every business can optimise. Including yours.

Start by picking ONE thing that annoys you or wastes time. Just one. Fix that. Then pick another.

I’ve seen a sole trader save 5 hours a week by creating email templates. I’ve seen a café increase revenue 20% just by rearranging its display case. I’ve watched a plumber double his jobs per day by optimising his van storage.

Small optimisations compound over time.

The businesses that consistently win aren’t the ones making dramatic, revolutionary changes. They’re the ones making hundreds of tiny improvements that add up to something massive.

So ask yourself:

• What wastes time in my business?
• What frustrates my customers?
• What process makes no sense, but we’ve always done it that way?
• What could I do 20% better without spending much?

Answer those questions honestly, make some changes, measure the results, and keep going.

That’s business optimisation. Nothing fancy. Just continuous improvement.

What’s one process in your business that drives you mad? Drop it in the comments – sometimes just explaining the problem helps you see the solution, or someone else might have fixed the same issue