Case Studies
The results we have helped our clients achieve are highly quantifiable. See the opportunities, solutions, and results of the case studies below.
23% Increase in Revenue
International Pharmaceutical Company in Canada
Opportunity
A major business unit for a pharmaceutical company in Canada was struggling to meet financial targets for revenue and costs due to poor service delivery performance and high inventory costs
Solution
- Worked with Senior Leadership team to customize operational excellence strategy to achieve financial goals
- Baseline operational excellence assessment performed for all major business functions
- Aggressive, detailed plans developed to close gaps and drive improvements
- 14 teams created to deliver performance improvements
- Provided in-process assessments guidance to drive rapid improvement
- Goals achieved in 18 months
Results
- On-time delivery performance increased from 75% to 98%
- Supplier delivery performance increased from 75% to 95%
- Packaging costs decreased by $250K/yr.
- Months of Supply of Inventory decreased from 5.3 months to 3.9 months – $55M/year savings
Processing Times Decreased from Hours to Minutes
International Cosmetics Company in South America
Opportunity
Front-end processes — order entry and packaging — were under-performing in an international cosmetics company, causing late deliveries to customers and long work hours for employees in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
Solution
- Assembled team of company subject matter experts including marketing and sales personnel
- Provided process excellence training to demonstrate benefits of reduced cycle time and improved accuracy of order entry, packaging and distribution
- Used team-based approach to design new process
- Designed and implemented dashboard to measure real-time performance of process
- Created detailed implementation plan
- Implemented new process in 3 countries in 4 weeks
- Provided on-going mentoring to drive improvements until goals reached
Results
- Average time to process orders reduced from 3 hours to 1.6 minutes
- Average time from order receipt to completion of product packaging reduced from > 1 hour to 2.5 minutes
- Number of orders processed per week increased by 40%
Repair Processing Time Decreased from 64 to 4 days
Aerospace/Defense Company in the United Kingdom
Opportunity
Processing times for repairing critical electronic assemblies used in military aircraft were taking 64 working days. Work in process inventory was ballooning further exacerbating the long cycle time problem.
Solution
1-week workshop to:
- Teach fundamental LEAN principles
- Map As-Is Process
- Set Cycle Time Improvement Goal
- Design To Be Process
- Design Dashboard to Measure Process Performance
- Develop detailed plan to rapidly implement process
- Process implemented in 2 weeks
Weekly follow up to ensure success (6 weeks)
Results
- Cycle Time reduced from 64 days to 4 days
- Work in Process Inventory reduced from 150 to 32 assets
- Productivity increased from 85% to 94% in first 2 weeks
- On-time delivery performance increased from 66% to 97%
Manufacturing Processing Time Reduced by 90%
International Supplier of Automotive Products in Germany
Opportunity
Company was experiencing low customer satisfaction due to long lead times for ordering products and inconsistent service levels for delivery of products. Expedites were an every day common occurrence to deliver late products to customers
Solution
- Assembled team of company subject matter experts
- Provided LEAN training to demonstrate benefits of reduced cycle time and impact on consistency of product service deliveries
- Used team-based approach to design new process
- Designed and implemented dashboard to measure new process performance
- Created detailed implementation plan
- Implemented new process in 3 countries in 4 weeks
Provided on-going mentoring to drive improvements until goals reached (3 months)
Results
- Order lead times reduced from 18 days to 7 days
- Manufacturing cycle time reduced by 90%, from 6 weeks to 48 hours
- Reduced work in process inventory by 85%
- Expedited orders reduced to zero
Costs Reduced by 42% for Accounts Payable Function
Large Healthcare Provider in Colorado
Opportunity
A large healthcare provider in Colorado required the need to create a new Accounts Payable organization as part of a $5B divestiture. The existing provider for Accounts Payable had no documented processes, zero process performance measures and thousands of overdue, unpaid invoices resulting in high supplier dissatisfaction and late fees.
Solution
Worked closely with AP Director and staff to form new team, document all major processes, establish key process performance measures with visual management, and provide training and mentoring to AP personnel to drive process improvements.
Results
- Increased speed of processing by 80%
- Improved accuracy of invoices processed by 55%
- Decreased costs of organization by 42%