How does value flow — and where does time die?
Flow efficiency: 7% — 40 hours of work spread over 35 days. Bid Prep is the bottleneck (red). Follow Up is the silent killer (orange).
Detailed ASCII diagram
VALUE STREAM MAP: SALES CRM & RFP
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
[TRIGGER: RFP lands. 3 weeks to respond. Half the answers exist somewhere.]
│
▼
┌──────────────────┐
│ 1. RECEIVE RFP │ C/T: 15min Wait: 0 %C&A: 80%
│ Download doc │
│ Identify scope │
└────────┬──────────┘
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ (1-3 days: go/no-go meeting not scheduled)
▼
┌──────────────────┐
│ 2. GO/NO-GO │ C/T: 30min Wait: 2d %C&A: 60%
│ Gut + calendar │
│ No scoring model │
└────────┬──────────┘
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ (2-5 days: gathering old answers from Word docs)
▼
┌──────────────────┐
│ 3. BID PREP │ C/T: 20-40h Wait: 3d %C&A: 25%
│ Copy-paste old │
│ Word docs, hope │
│ someone saved │
│ the last version │
└────────┬──────────┘
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ (1-3 days: waiting for SME to review)
▼
┌──────────────────┐
│ 4. SME REVIEW │ C/T: 4-8h Wait: 2d %C&A: 50%
│ Technical check │
│ Pricing sign-off │
└────────┬──────────┘
│ ░░░░░ (0.5-1 day: formatting, compliance, final assembly)
▼
┌ ──────────────────┐
│ 5. SUBMIT │ C/T: 2h Wait: 0.5d %C&A: 90%
│ Final assembly │
│ Upload/courier │
└────────┬──────────┘
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ (2-6 weeks: evaluation period)
▼
┌──────────────────┐
│ 6. FOLLOW UP │ C/T: 1h Wait: 21d %C&A: 30%
│ Chase for update │
│ If remembered │
└────────┬──────────┘
│
▼
[OUTPUT: Award or loss. No data on why. Next RFP starts from scratch.]
Cycle Time: 28-52 hours (actual work per RFP)
Wait Time: ~30 days (gaps + evaluation + forgotten follow-ups)
Lead Time: ~35 days
Flow Efficiency: 40h / 35 days = ~7%
World-class: >25% Good: 15-25% Typical: 5-15% CURRENT: ~7%
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Bottlenecks
| Rank | Step | Wait | Root Cause | Tool Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bid Prep | 2-5 days gathering + 20-40h work | Copy-paste from old Word docs, no library | Auto-fill 70% from approved answer library |
| 2 | Follow-up | 21+ days | No system, relies on memory | Task management linked to deals, overdue highlighting |
| 3 | SME Review | 1-3 days | No queue, no assignment system | Review Queue + My Queue with confidence tiers |
| 4 | Go/No-Go | 1-3 days | Gut feeling, no scoring | Go/No-Go checklist with weighted criteria |
| 5 | Receive | 0 days (low wait) | Manual scope assessment | Document upload + RFP Type Detection auto-classify |
Seven Wastes
| Waste | Current | With Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Rework | Rewriting answers written before in previous bids | Answer library: write once, auto-fill forever |
| Waiting | 30 days of gaps between steps | Pipeline kanban with stage deadlines, overdue alerts |
| Motion | Searching email, Word docs, spreadsheets, notebooks | One venture page: property + contacts + deals + docs |
| Overproduction | Full bid prep on unwinnable RFPs | Go/No-Go scoring: 70%+ = Go, below 50% = No-Go |
| Defects | Wrong answers from outdated docs | Confidence scoring on library answers, SME approval flow |
| Inventory | 3-5 copies of same answer in different formats | Single source of truth per answer, versioned |
Target State
With CRM + RFP tool:
Cycle Time: ~12 hours (auto-fill 70%, human reviews 30%)
Wait Time: ~5 days (structured review queue, task reminders)
Lead Time: ~7 days (for steps 1-5, excluding evaluation)
Flow Efficiency: 12h / 7 days ≈ 10% → improving to 15%+ as library compounds
Key leverage: Each RFP answered makes the next one faster.
10th RFP: ~80% auto-fill. 50th RFP: ~90%.
The compound rate IS the moat.
Gate
Before moving to Dependency Map:
- All 6 steps documented with cycle time — YES
- Wait time measured between each step — YES (0 to 21 days)
- Flow efficiency calculated — YES (7% current, 10-15% target)
- Bottlenecks identified and ranked — YES (5 ranked)
- Waste types categorized — YES (6 of 7 present)
- Key insight: compound rate is the moat — each RFP makes the next faster
Context
- Outcome Map — Previous: what does success look like
- Dependency Map — Next: what must happen first
- Value Stream Map Template — The empty pattern