Capacity/ Throughput Maximization
Rapidly Capturing Manufacturing And Logistics Cost Reduction Opportunities At Ethnic Foodservice Products Manufacturer
Captured $1.2MM in operations run-rate savings in 12 weeks at an ethnic foodservice and retail private label products manufacturer by implementing shop floor management best practices. Gotham worked on the shop floor to: observe operations; identify potential improvement opportunities; provide immediate guidance to client personnel; and troubleshoot and pilot solutions. We improved line through from ~225 cases/shift to ~375 cases/shift, reduced fill weight by 3-7% to minimize overfill, reduce floor scrap by 50%; and eliminated expired rework scrap. To ensure sustainability and further improvements, we: trained client personnel, put in place process changes, tools, KPIs and reporting system; and identified/planned next set of improvement opportunities. Gotham also launched logistics savings capture by developing direct ship pilot and facilitating conversation between company sales teams and foodservice distributors.
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Avoiding Need for Capital Investment via Throughput Improvement and Cost Reduction at Private Label Nutraceutical Company
Identified significant manufacturing capacity available through a variety of key throughput levers, including: reduced number and shortened length of changeovers; reduced frequency and duration of downtime; and increased speed in bottleneck equipment. In addition, identified 35% reduction in direct labor cost. Following our implementation plan, company increased EBITDA by $7MM by the end of the fiscal year and the PE firm successfully sold the company.
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Assessing Operational Scalability to Support Targeted Growth at Family-owned Branded Ethnic Foods Manufacturer
Built operational performance fact base and cost model for due diligence of an entrepreneurial company. Effort included: first-hand observation of operations, management interviews, data collection and synthesis, equipment condition and capex requirement assessment, food safety review, and interviews with potential co-packers. Established that: the existing plant can meet the buyer's target of growing the business 2-3X current volume; identified 5-6 viable and interested co-packers; identified opportunities to reduce cost per case by 16-17.5%; and provided a road map for improving operations. The PE firm is in process of closing the deal.
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In A Data-poor Situation, Confirming Operational Readiness to Support Targeted National Growth at Family-owned Specialty Foods Company
Conducted detailed observations of manufacturing operations (evaluating equipment, labor, downtime, changeovers, etc.) and developed bottom-up capacity model to quantify production increases and cost savings. Determined that target’s facility had sufficient capacity to meet 5-year targeted growth projections; identified cost per case savings 15-20% from labor and overhead reductions; found low risk of future operational surprises (e.g., major equipment cap ex requirements, food safety/quality issues, etc.); and provided PE Client with ingoing operational value capture plan. Client moved forward with acquisition and immediately began implementation of Gotham recommended improvement initiatives.
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Rapid Backlog Reduction and Sustainable Delivery System at Precision Medical Device Component Manufacturer
Rapidly reduced backlog and created a robust delivery system. Backlog reduction effort included rolling out prioritized schedule, developing and implementing debottlenecking strategies, creating a cross-functional team resolving issues that were stopping scheduled jobs. Robust delivery system initiatives included: 1) turning on the planning and scheduling functionality of the ERP/cleaning up system data and parameters, developing SOPs for data entry, training the workforce on the SOP; 2) improving the accuracy of time estimates by revamping engineering process; and 3) reducing quality defects by 20%. Within 3 months, on-time performance improved from 59% to 93% while lead time shrunk from 13-16 weeks to 10 weeks, with backlog reduced in half.
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Network-wide Operating System to Turn Around Performance at Foodservice/Co-pack Juice Company
Turned around plant performance by implementing basic plant operating system (downtime, waste, and scheduling). $600K in run rate cost savings captured by the end of the 6-week engagement, with tools and processes in place to capture the rest. Building on the initial success, rolled out the network-wide standard operating procedures to the other 2 plants during an 8-week Phase II effort with additional savings of $2-2.5MM expected. Company generating record EBITDA (60+% improvement in EBITDA) and the PE firm decided to market the company for an exit.
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