Hlulani Rikhotso

Knowledgeable and goal-oriented Industrial Engineer and Business Analyst with over 15 years of hands-on experience driving operational excellence and strategic process improvements across the manufacturing, logistics, and financial sectors. Currently serving as a Lean Specialist at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), I possess a unique internal understanding of the organisation's processes, culture, and security sensitivities. I am a proven expert in the full Business Analysis lifecycle, from identifying business problems and performing root cause analysis to designing, implementing, and testing comprehensive solutions.

My core strength lies in bridging the gap between business needs and technical solutions, facilitating workshops with senior stakeholders to define requirements, and managing complex, multi-year initiatives. My background in Lean Six Sigma (Master Black Belt), Project Management, and Supply Chain equips me with the analytical rigour and strategic thinking required to tackle the heightened complexity of the Security Business Analyst role, particularly in process optimisation, risk mitigation, and technology integration.

Lean Specialist - Currency Management Department - South African Reserve Bank

(2023-07)

• Lead Analysis Initiatives: Drive business analysis initiatives and improvement projects to optimise the cash supply chain, quantifying problem statements and defining business requirements in collaboration with stakeholders and Business SMEs.
• Elicit & Define Requirements: Facilitate workshops with line managers (Kaizen Events) to identify problems, define business requirements, and identify optimisation opportunities, leading to a 33% productivity improvement at one branch.
• Business Process Review: Review business processes, procedures, and performance metrics to identify optimisation opportunities designing and recommending solutions that improve efficiency and reduce costs.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Present engagement results and proposed solutions to business owners, managing the relationship between business customers, development/technical teams, and other impacted stakeholders.
• Data & Problem Analysis: Investigate problems using available data and DMAIC methodology, performing root cause analysis to test assumptions, define solutions, and ensure benefits realisation.
• Knowledge Transfer: Design and deliver training tools and facilitate knowledge transfer on Lean implementation and best practices, driving a cultural shift towards continuous improvement.
• Security Context: Leverage an internal understanding of SARB's security protocols, incident management, and operational risk environment to ensure solutions align with organisational security policies.

Systems and Process Manager - Massmart Gauteng RDC (Retail)

(2022-03 - 2023-06)

• UAT & Business Testing: Led User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and quality assurance for new business processes and system enhancements to ensure solutions met business needs.
• Systems Analysis: Managed the optimisation of the Warehouse Management System, ensuring system set-ups aligned with operational changes to maintain stock integrity and efficient service delivery.
• Process Design: Developed and implemented streamlined, accurate processes to support day-to-day operational demands, ensuring alignment between system functionality and business processes.
• Stakeholder Coordination: Collaborated with operations teams, stakeholders, and subordinates to ensure goals are met and SLA requirements are achieved for both internal and external customers.
• Problem Resolution: Performed root cause analysis on system challenges and coordinated fixes with the Operations team, ensuring a streamlined and efficient warehousing system.

Business Analyst (Production & Logistics) - BME (Member of the Omnia Group)

(2021-04 - 2022-02)

• Business Analysis Lifecycle: Performed comprehensive business analysis by evaluating processes, anticipating requirements, uncovering areas for improvement, and developing and implementing solutions.
• Solution Design: Led ongoing reviews of business processes and developed optimisation strategies, translating business needs into functional requirements and system specifications.
• Stakeholder & Project Management: Served as a liaison between stakeholders and users, managing projects, developing project plans, monitoring performance, and ensuring timely completion of deliverables.
• Cost Savings: Utilised time and work measurement to solve a constraint, saving R10,000 per month, and determined optimal product loading sites, saving R102,000 per month in transport costs.

Business Improvement Analyst (Industrial Engineer) - Dynamic Fluid Control (Aveng Manufacturing)

(2017-02 - 2020-05)

• Process Improvement & Change Management: Championed Business Excellence initiatives (WCM), including Standardisation, Practical Problem Solving, and TPM across 5 departments. Drove cultural change using lean tools (5s, VSM, Visual Management).
• Data Analysis & Reporting: Generated detailed reports covering key data analysis, outlining potential solutions, and identifying new process improvements to enhance quality, supply chain, and operations.
• Operational Efficiency: Implemented lean manufacturing methodology that reduced related expenses by R2 million per year. Introduced new process controls that decreased inspection failures by 5%.

Continuous Improvement Specialist / Industrial Engineer - Transnet Port Terminals - Durban

(2011-08 - 2017-01)

• Process & Project Leadership: Identified and facilitated process improvement projects and training/workshops to drive cultural change using lean tools (5s, Value Stream Mapping). Managed regional projects and tracked performance against KPIs.
• Supply Chain Optimisation: Saved +- R1 million in fuel savings through optimised supply chain processes. Developed streamlined processes that boosted productivity and reduced offloading time by 20%.
• Strategic Analysis: Conducted root cause analysis to troubleshoot business issues and create process documentation. Drove value stream mapping to define "As-Is" and "Future State" processes.

Manufacturing Coordinator / Industrial Engineer - Feltex Automotive Trim (Toyota Supplier)

(2006-10 - 2011-07)

• Operational Management: Monitored production schedules and managed operations with a focus on Lean Manufacturing. Supervised and coordinated teams to meet demanding production goals.
• Lean Implementation: Used lean methodology to improve production processes, decreasing overtime and achieving 10% savings in labour cost, while increasing capacity by 30%.
• Root Cause Analysis & Problem Solving: Conducted root cause analysis on production issues, designed improvements to equipment, and recommended new processes to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Master's - Industrial Engineering - Stellenbosch University (2025 - 2027)

Master of Business Administration - MBA - Tshwane Business School (2024)

BSc (Honours) - Industrial Systems - University of Pretoria (2016)

B-Tech - Industrial Engineering - Durban University of Technology (2009)

Post Graduate Diploma - Project Management - MANCOSA (2016)