Food Manufacturer
SITUATION
Food manufacturer sought to improve its ability to meet customer delivery requirements and reduce costs associated with warehousing and distribution of inventory.
DRIVER GOAL
- Increase order fill rates from 95% to 98%.
- Improve on-time delivery from 79% to 98%
- Increase inventory turns by 10%.
- Improve first pass yield by 5%.
RESULT
- Improved order fill rate to 98%.
- Improved on-time delivery to 98%.
- Increased inventory turns by 16%.
- Improved first pass yield by 10%.
- Reduced set-up time by 50%.
- Reduced overtime by 50%.
Case Study
Optimize Customer Delivery & Reduce Distribution Costs
Issue
A major food manufacturer sought to improve its ability to meet customer delivery requirements and reduce costs associated with the warehousing and distribution of large quantities of inventory previously maintained to meet increased customer demand.
Highland Approach
The organization’s complex and dispersed footprint (eight manufacturing facilities) called for a detailed strategic plan to optimize supply chain efficiencies and a management system to leverage available resources and materials. The team worked closely with leadership to create and implement these elements, then used a variety of Lean Manufacturing tools and methods to refine the system, removing waste and constraints, improving equipment uptime and utilization and decreasing the need for excess inventory.
Actions Taken
In eight manufacturing locations:
- Developed and implemented an external-facing process that focused the organization on meeting customer requirements.
- Designed and put into place a System For Managing that reacts to customer demand and channels that demand into the most cost effective and timely fulfillment location.
- Developed and implemented a logistics management system.
- Implemented Lean Manufacturing concepts on the shop floor with focus on first pass yield, throughput and equipment utilization.
