I Background
The client is a market leader in the beverage industry, with sites in Denmark, China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. As part of the CEO’s new growth strategy, the company wanted continuous improvement to become embedded in its culture and daily operations.
Mantec was invited to support this development within the Supply Chain organisation. The objective was not only to identify improvement potential, but also to establish practical ways of working that would help the organisation improve its daily business – every day, everywhere.
II Analysis
The partnership began with an analysis of the current situation. Mantec combined employee interviews and statistical analysis with direct observation of daily work and detailed mapping of operational workflows.
Working together with the client’s employees, the team used brown-paper process mapping to visualise the current state and communicate the main improvement opportunities. Significant potential was identified in Production and Warehousing through more efficient use of people and machinery. Further opportunities were found in Maintenance and Purchasing.
Based on the findings, the implementation was organised into focused workstreams. Each workstream was staffed by key people from the client organisation and supported by Mantec consultants, ensuring that the solutions were developed close to the work itself.
III Implementation
Production and Maintenance
Clear roles, responsibilities and targets were defined for each team and production line. Staffing was optimised, and cooperation between operators and maintenance technicians was strengthened.
Maintenance technicians were integrated more closely into the production line teams, increasing their focus on line stability. Lean tools were introduced to identify and remove obstacles and to support continuous improvement around the production lines.
Production processes were also refined. More accurate sugar dosing and adjustments to product recipes reduced raw-material use.
Purchasing
The Purchasing team and relevant Functional Managers negotiated with the suppliers included in the project scope. During the project, 28 agreements were concluded, and a systematic approach was established for continued supplier development and negotiations.
Warehouse
Two distribution warehouses were consolidated into one. Product stacking was improved, reducing transportation requirements and making distribution more efficient.
Management operating system
To support the improvements and make follow-up part of everyday management, the project introduced a coherent management operating system. It included:
- visual management boards and regular board meetings;
- a key performance indicator board for Supply Chain Management;
- reporting tools connecting team leaders with management;
- a tool for collecting, analysing and reporting overall equipment effectiveness data; and
- action logs for all departments to ensure that improvement tasks were identified, assigned and implemented.
Training team leaders and managers was a vital part of the implementation. The training focused on lean tools and the cultural changes needed to enable faster decision-making and sustain the new ways of working.
IV Results
The project established a new way of working with continuous improvement across the Supply Chain organisation. During the project:
- output from the production lines increased by 15–20%;
- staffing requirements were reduced in Production and Warehousing; and
- the Purchasing team achieved savings equal to 3% of the purchasing volume in scope.
Management also gained a clearer understanding of the need to cooperate across functions, follow up on agreed plans and work continuously with improvements. With shared targets, visible follow-up and clearer ownership in place, the organisation was better equipped to keep improving its daily business – every day, everywhere.
Would you like to explore the operational potential in your organisation?
Book a free 45-minute consultation with us:
Denmark – Bent Hansen
bent.hansen@mantec.eu
+45 20 91 46 36
Finland – Eero Vuorensola
eero.vuorensola@mantec.eu
+358 40 54 45 200
Sweden – Göran Svensson
goran.r@mantec.eu
+46 70 631 86 18
Norway – Jan-Erick Olsen
jeolsen@mantec.eu
+47 922 68682
Other countries – Kjetil Barfelt
kjetil.barfelt@mantec.eu
+47 913 13 131
