Real Case Studies

!The Challenge

A global manufacturer of critical separator components for consumer electronics and automotive batteries was turning away revenue. Despite aggressive kaizen events that squeezed every possible unit from the existing facility (including a 40% improvement in pack-out productivity and a 42% reduction in slitter changeover time), the primary plant remained capacity-constrained at 8 million square meters per month against demand that had surged 44% to 9.6 million SQM/month. Weekly allocation meetings were held with the VP of Operations, planning, and sales to decide which customers would receive product and which would be turned away. The board approved a $100M investment to build a greenfield facility. The original 18-month timeline was compressed first to 14 months and then to 12 months.

Our Approach

• Located and leased a 75,000 sq ft transition warehouse for staging all equipment, materials, forklifts, lab equipment, warehouse racking, and training facilities — evaluated 10 candidate facilities across 3 locations
• Developed and executed the entire lean enterprise design plan for the new plant — layout, material flow, kanban systems, point-of-use configurations
• Led kaizen events at the primary facility and replicated best practices into the new plant design from Day 1
• Recommended and sourced the $35M capital equipment expansion to increase capacity from 40M to 70M SQM annually
• Ran the raw materials distribution operation across 3 North American divisions during the transition
• Collaborated daily with the project manager responsible for the physical build, with weekly formal project reviews tracking against Gantt chart milestones

Measurable Results

!The Challenge

A Fortune 500 global OEM manufacturer with 48 plants worldwide was buying commodities independently at each site — no consolidated spend leverage, no standardized supplier strategies, and significant cost redundancy. Each plant managed its own supply base with no visibility into what sister plants were paying for identical commodities. The company needed a global sourcing program to consolidate spend, leverage purchasing power, and standardize supplier relationships across 4 major commodity groups: Steel ($850M spend), Electrical ($466M), Hydraulic ($225M), and Cylinders ($103M) — totaling $1.644 billion in addressable spend.

Our Approach

• Structured program with clear governance: directors for each commodity group, team leads with deep sourcing expertise, and representatives from each of the 48 plants
• Shifted from component-level purchasing to subassembly purchasing — buying painted weldments ready for installation rather than raw steel requiring in-plant fabrication
• Negotiated directly with the CEO of a major steel supplier/servicer for a partnership delivering raw steel plus finished painted weldments across all 48 plants in a pull system with RFID-enabled receiving
• Developed global commodity strategies incorporating SWOT analysis, supplier lean assessment, VA/VE opportunity identification, supply base ranking, and consolidation roadmaps
• Managed international sourcing across India, China, France, Mexico, Italy, Japan, Korea, and the United States

Measurable Results

!The Challenge

A global OEM manufacturer needed to relocate an entire aerial work platform assembly line 2,500 miles — from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast US. The origin plant needed the floor space for another product line experiencing increasing demand. The line had a hard shutdown date — once production stopped at the origin, the new facility had to be producing. The original 8-month plan was compressed by corporate headquarters to 5 months. Simultaneously, 3 new product launches, an ERP system migration, and current production obligations all continued.

Our Approach

• Established Gantt chart–driven implementation path with defined risks, barriers, and stage gates at critical points of no return
• Managed ~12 stakeholders including plant managers, general managers, VPs, and the CEO with weekly cross-site collaboration meetings
• Managed three critical paths: Equipment Move (longest lead-time), Material Component Move (5 semi-tractor-trailer loads), and Supplier Qualification
• Designed lean layout in parallel — material flow paths, supermarket locations, warehouse configurations, and Kanban systems matching origin facility processes
• Created Plan For Every Part for all 7,900 components — cycle count plan, barcoded Kanban cards, FIFO supermarket locations
• Negotiated 3 suppliers to co-locate shared distribution hub within 1 mile of new plant

Measurable Results

!The Challenge

Multiple organizations across aerospace, consumer products, and distribution faced unique operational challenges — from achieving AS9100 certification across two aerospace fabrication plants, to building a complete Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) process for a consumer products company, to reshoring supply from China to domestic sources.

Our Approach

• AS9100 Implementation: Developed supplier performance requirements manual, scorecards, shipping/receiving methods, and conducted internal audit and risk management training across two aerospace plants
• Consumer Products SIOP: Implemented new distribution center including process design, led meetings with financial institutions, and developed onshoring action plans to transition supply from Chinese to domestic sources
• Lean Manufacturing Education: Served as adjunct faculty teaching Lean principles — value stream mapping, Kanban, and continuous improvement methodologies
• QMS Lead Auditing: Ongoing third-party audits under ISO 9001, AS9100, and AS9110 (maintenance, repair, overhaul) standards across diverse manufacturing and service organizations

Measurable Results