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Manufacturing Process Improvement

Stoke Consulting - Manufacturing Process Improvement | Management Consultants

Our client was a food processing business that produced and sold high-quality products for the retail market from a single site. They had experienced challenges with poor process control, resulting in high inventories of work-in-progress and excessive daily crisis management. We aimed to identify the causes and provide actionable remedies to address the issue. So, we introduced the “Push to Pull” manufacturing approach, having optimised the client’s operations and improved their overall efficiency.

Problems

As we began working with our client, we realised that they were facing some significant challenges, such as a lack of effective production planning for a shelf-life-sensitive product, which led to isolated production processes, long lead times, and difficulty meeting customer demands. The management team had grown accustomed to a reactive working environment and enjoyed the thrill of responding to crises.

Solution

Introduced production planning capabilities through simple systems, processes, and work practicesDesigned and implemented a mini Sales and Operations Planning processRe-set and alignment of job goals and metrics with management

Outcomes

We achieved significant improvements in our manufacturing operations through process improvements. Having implemented changes to our processes, we reduced work-in-progress by 50%, resulting in a more streamlined and efficient production line. Additionally, we managed to save on labour costs by reducing the number of full-time employees needed.

As these actions took effect, cash was released as daily crisis management was reduced, and the business was able to properly investigate more automatic and integrated IS solutions.

Finally, our team improved the DIFOT (Delivery In Full On Time) rate from mid-70% to over 90%, ensuring that our customers receive their orders on time and in the correct quantity.