Coatings For Africa took place at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 24-26 June 2026, bringing together manufacturers, raw material suppliers, distributors, buyers, chemists, formulators and technical specialists across the coatings value chain. The event reinforced how closely coatings businesses sit at the intersection of manufacturing performance, supply chain reliability, customer demand and technical quality.
The same pressures appear in many manufacturing and supplier businesses: demand is changing, input costs are moving, customers expect reliable delivery, and leaders need better visibility over what is working and what is holding performance back. A business performance optimization approach makes those gaps visible and converts them into practical improvement actions.
Understand the current performance baseline.
Use operational excellence to close the gaps.
Move toward maximum sustainable performance.
Start with business results
The foundation of optimizing business performance is a clear understanding of current results. Before a business can make improvements, it must establish its baseline in various areas: sales, profit margins, working capital, production performance, service levels, quality issues, stock availability, customer delivery, and cost drivers. For a coatings or manufacturing business, this entails examining not only revenue but also whether the company is producing the right products at the right cost and with the desired level of reliability.
Identify the three gaps
Performance gaps usually appear in three places. The execution gap is the difference between what was planned and what actually happened on the shop floor, in sales, in procurement or in delivery. The planning gap is the difference between ambition and a realistic plan with resources, timing, accountability and forecast discipline. The capacity gap is the difference between what the business wants to achieve and the people, systems, equipment, cash and capability available to achieve it.
Business performance improves when leaders stop treating symptoms separately and start seeing how execution, planning and capacity gaps work together.
Use business improvement as the driving force
Once the gaps are visible, business improvement becomes the driving force that moves the business from current performance toward maximum performance. This can include Lean Six Sigma, process improvement, cost reduction, better production planning, supplier performance management, inventory discipline, dashboard reporting and stronger management routines. The point is not to create more complexity. The point is to create disciplined action around the few changes that will improve results.
Connect improvement to business objectives
Improvement only matters when it supports business objectives. For a coatings manufacturer, the objective may be improved margin, reduced waste, better batch consistency, faster lead times, stronger customer service or improved cash flow. For a supplier, the objective may be stock reliability, better demand planning, more profitable customer segments or improved debtor management. The model keeps improvement connected to the objectives that matter most.
Strengthen effectiveness and performance optimization
Business effectiveness is the ability to achieve objectives consistently. Business performance optimization is the system of tools, routines and management discipline that helps the business close gaps and keep improving. This is where dashboards, management accounts, operating reviews, project tracking, improvement portfolios and accountability routines come together.
Digital enablement partner
Turning improvement routines into a live management system with a digital solution
Once the performance model, improvement priorities and management routines are clear, PRESTO P-D-C-A provides a digital platform that can help teams make those routines visible through operational excellence dashboards, workflows, tasks, KPIs, issue management, document control and accountability tracking.
In practice, this means performance optimization does not remain a once-off diagnostic. Business results, execution gaps, planning gaps, capacity gaps and improvement actions can be translated into a working system that leaders and teams review, update and act on continuously.
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Why this matters for coatings and industrial suppliers
Coatings, construction and manufacturing value chains are closely connected. When construction demand shifts, it affects coatings, raw materials, packaging, distribution, logistics and technical support. Businesses that understand their results, gaps and capacity are better positioned to respond to demand, protect margins and grow sustainably.
What to look at next
For leaders in coatings, manufacturing and industrial supply chains, the useful starting point is to ask where performance is currently being lost: execution, planning, capacity, visibility or accountability. The answer often points to the next practical improvement conversation.
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