Operational Recovery

Food Manufacturing - A 3pl food distribution operation with annual revenues of over £6m was failing as a result of an over ambitious expansion plan. Service levels (OTIF) had fallen to below 70%, the operation was making significant financial losses and the customer was beginning to lose market share. The operation was recovered by the provision of leadership, application of a structured improvement plan which included achievable weekly targets and KPIs, revised operational processes and renegotiation of tariffs. This restored customer confidence, increased the service level to over 95% and produced annual savings of over £500k.

Solution Design & Implementation

Fashion Retailer – In order to support market penetration into Europe, a leading fashion retailer was supported in the design and implementation of new paperless 12,500m² distribution centre for flat pack garments. Starting with a strategic location study, both the concept and detailed designs were developed for DC and transport operations, property specifications and functional design of the WMS. In addition, equipment selection was managed which included racking, lift trucks, mezzanine floors, conveyor systems, RF equipment and sortation systems for both garments and full cases. The project had a capital budget of £12m and from greenfield to first deliveries took just 10 months.

Performance Improvement

Department Store - The central warehouse for a department store serving over 20 stores nationwide had seen little change in its previous 10 years of service. As a consequence the operation had become fat and outdated. By the application of lean and industrial engineering techniques, the operation was significantly streamlined resulting in a 33% reduction in headcount from 750 to 500 and a reduction in order cycle time from 5 days to 2 days. Results were achieved with minimum capital investment with a payback of well inside 12 months.