This story is for CEOs who:
- Want to understand the root causes of problems but lack the data they need
- Are seeking expertise in strategic sourcing and supply planning
- Need fast wins to raise profits and lower costs
The Challenge
A supplier of food ingredients was about to open a second production facility, yet still struggled to maintain throughput and contain costs at their first facility. Executives lacked visibility into the data that would tell them where and why problems were developing and what actions would have the best effect.
Bringing a company closer to its goals with upskilled procurement, operations, and logistics functions
SGS Maine Pointe:
- Increased throughput 275% at the first plant and 135% at the second by changing from two under-staffed shifts to one fully staffed shift and optimizing equipment use and placement
- Educated the purchasing department in supply chain material management
- Improved demand planning
- Improved communications with the company’s suppliers of raw materials
- Upgraded the order entry and confirmation process
- Initiated sales, inventory, and operations planning (SIOP) process
- Set up a detailed management operating system
- Accessed data buried in the company’s ERP system and identified key metrics in line with goals
- Made data both functional and visible to give executives unprecedented insight into orders, operations, deliveries, and transportation costs
Lessons learned for other executives
- Access to accurate, timely, reliable data is essential for balancing supply can demand
- A mature procurement department is better able to negotiate prices with suppliers
- Even struggling companies can gain control over their plan-make-buy-move supply chain
The Results
- $7.2M annualized benefits
- 60% drop in cancellations of orders
- 20% fuel savings (retail & bulk)
- 275% throughput increase at Plant 1
- 135% throughput increase at Plant 2
- Initiated a sales, inventory, and operations planning (SIOP) process
- Gave executives unprecedented end-to-end supply chain visibility
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Uplifting Processes, Throughput, and Data to Support Long-Term Goals (CS283)
