One framework. Five layers. Eleven sectors.
The management system that's still running twelve months later.
Gihon Systems installs a single, sector-calibrated management system for SMEs, from strategy through to measurement. We stay until you are running it, not us.
The problem
Most SMEs don't fail for lack of effort.
They fail because the business runs on the owner's memory instead of a system.
- StrategyUnwritten, so every decision goes back to the owner.
- ProcessesUndocumented, so they change with whoever does them.
- QualityDepends on who is on duty.
- PerformanceReviewed once a year, when it's too late to act.
The usual fix is fragmented: a strategy session here, a process consultant there, an ISO project run separately from both. Three sets of documents and no management system.
Gihon Systems does one thing instead: we install a single, connected system.What makes us different
Four promises, each one checkable.
A single, connected system
Five layers and one feedback loop. Strategy, model, process, quality and measurement are designed together, not bolted on.
Sector-calibrated from day one
Your sector's revenue mechanics, KPIs and risks are built in before the first session, not discovered during it.
Installed, not just advised
A defined schedule of 20 deliverables across three phases. Every layer ends in something written, owned and used.
Still running at 12 months
By month six, you chair the management review, not us. That handover is the point.
Our approach
Two frameworks, at right angles.
The Five-Layer Management System
One connected system covering strategy, business model, operating model, quality and performance.
Is this business run on a system, or on the owner?
The Sector Lens
All five layers calibrated to the economics of eleven SME sectors.
Does this advice actually fit how money is made in my trade?
Strategy
Where to play, how to win, and what must be in place. Deliverable: a written strategic plan, reviewed each quarter against performance data.
Business model
Value proposition, profitable segments, and whether operations match what you promise. Deliverable: Business Model and Operating Model Canvases with a gap analysis.
Operating model
Documented processes, clear roles, less dependence on the owner. Deliverable: 10–15 SOPs, org chart with role profiles, RACI matrix and technology roadmap.
Quality & ISO 9001
Quality policy, owned risks, and a working corrective-action process. Deliverable: an ISO 9001-aligned quality management system, ready for certification.
Performance management
KPIs linked to the strategy and reviewed on a fixed cadence. Deliverable: 12–15 balanced-scorecard KPIs and a live management dashboard.
ISO 9001 runs across all five layers, providing governance, risk management and continual improvement. Performance data feeds back into the strategic review, so the system corrects itself.
The sector lens
Eleven sectors. Calibrated before the first session.
A valuation firm lives or dies on turnaround time and panel access. A collections firm lives on recovery rate and prescription risk. Generic advice misses both.
Legal firms Published
Utilisation, realisation and collection rates; diarisation and matter-file discipline.
Debt collection Published
Recovery rate by portfolio; mandate relationships; prescription risk; NCR and NCA compliance.
Property valuations Published
Panel access; turnaround per instruction type; challenged-valuation rate; SACPVP currency.
Building & construction
Tender conversion; margin against estimate; programme slippage; retention and cash-flow timing.
Manufacturing
Throughput and yield; scrap and rework; machine availability; order-to-delivery cycle.
Supply chain & logistics
Cost per kilometre; route and backload matching; fleet availability; on-time delivery.
IT services
Recurring vs project revenue; ticket resolution time; billable utilisation; client churn.
Commercial cleaning
Contract retention; site-level margin; staff turnover; supervision ratio.
Plumbing services
First-time fix rate; callout-to-quote conversion; technician productivity; stock control.
Electrical maintenance
Compliance certification discipline; scheduled vs reactive work; technician utilisation.
Mechanical maintenance
Planned-maintenance compliance; mean time to repair; spares availability; contract renewal.
Multi-practice businesses. A law firm with litigation, conveyancing, labour, RAF, projects and collections runs six revenue models under one roof. We apply the framework on two tiers: firm-wide for strategy, quality and measurement, and practice by practice for operating model, billing and KPIs.
Results
Improvement that holds.
Legal collections firm
Panel ranking determines instruction volume, so ranking last was an existential problem. Work was allocated reactively, and matter progress lived in individual attorneys' heads.
- Business model redesign: which matter types actually carried margin on commission-on-collection
- Matter lifecycle documented end to end, from mandate intake to recovery
- Diarisation and file management treated as quality controls, not admin
- A small set of KPIs on a fixed review cadence, with escalation triggers
Ranking gains from a push are common. Gains that hold for two years mean the system changed, not the effort level.
How we engage
Diagnose. Install. Hand over.
Diagnostic
A sector-calibrated assessment of where your business runs on a system and where it runs on you.
Phase 1: Install
Strategy, business model and process documentation. A fixed-scope project with defined deliverables.
Embed & hand over
Quality, performance measurement and a monthly review rhythm, supported on a monthly retainer.
About
Built on how large operations actually run.
Madimetsa Derrick Leopeng, Founder & Director
Derrick began as a chemical engineer in refinery economics and operations at BP Southern Africa. He then spent 15 years at PetroSA, where he led the worldwide commercialisation of one of only three proven Gas-to-Liquids technologies and served as Strategy Manager for Operations. On secondment to the Department of Energy, he contributed to the Integrated Energy Plan and project-managed the updated Energy White Paper.
Large industrial operations run on documented systems, measured performance and disciplined review, because at that scale nothing else works. Most SMEs never acquire those habits. Gihon Systems exists to install them at a scale and cost an SME can carry.
Since 2021 he has worked directly with 25 companies across two structured supplier development programmes.
Gihon was a spring that sustained a city, but only once the water was channelled. The value was already there; the system is what kept it in place. That is the work.
- Qualifications
- B.Sc. Chemical Engineering (Tulane University) · ISO 9001:2015 implementation (SABS) · Oil & Gas Mini MBA (CWC London) · Financial MBA (Terrapin) · PMBOK project management
- Sectors worked
- Legal services · debt collection · property valuations · construction · manufacturing · logistics · IT services · commercial cleaning · trades and maintenance
- Based
- Centurion, Gauteng, serving Gauteng and surrounds
Get started
Book a diagnostic.
Tell us a little about your business. We'll come back to you within two working days to arrange a first conversation.
- Emailderrick@gihonsystems.com
- Telephone+27 60 381 4086
- Office46 Roswell Crescent, Blue Valley Golf Estate, Centurion, Gauteng