Labor Productivity
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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Establishing Operation End-vision for a Fast-growing, Entrepreneurial Climate Control Product Manufacturer
Conducted a 3-week operations diagnostic to establish an end-vision for optimizing the clients’s manufacturing, supply chain, and engineering operations. Gotham developed a solid fact base of the client’s operations, including demand patterns, inventory, labor efficiency, product complexity, and cost structure. Working with management, Gotham created an end-vision to transform operations and generate both real bottom line benefits – 600bp EBITDA improvement, 20-30% reduction in inventory, and 30% reduction in the plant footprint – and capability enhancements (faster speed to market, improved quality, etc.) that will allow the client to capture market opportunities and drive future growth. The company’s board wholeheartedly backed this end-vision and asked Gotham to help accelerate capture of these opportunities.
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Focusing and Accelerating Labor and Freight Cost Reductions at Branded Consumer Goods Company
Identified and help capture immediate cost savings opportunities in a recently acquired portfolio company that fell short on EBITDA target and violated bank covenants. Effort included 3-4 week development of $1-2MM cost reduction plan and 6-week assistance in capturing $900K labor and outbound freight opportunities, accounting for 15% increase in EBITDA.
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Establishing “One Company” Organization and Operations to Realize Cost Synergies at Direct Marketing Services Company
Conducted a 5-week operations diagnostic of a recently acquired portfolio company to identify cost reduction opportunities and establish organizational and operations end-visions. Gotham undertook an extensive analytic effort to reconcile and align data from 3 separate, independently operating systems corresponding to each business unit and create in-depth profiles of purchasing spend and labor efficiency. We also identified opportunities to improve salesforce effectiveness, including salesforce restructuring and a new compensation system. Finally, working with management, Gotham developed a “One Company” organizational structure to eliminate disconnect and facilitate savings opportunity capture within and among the 3 business units. Following the diagnostic, management launched efforts to capture these opportunities, which were expected to improve the company’s EBITDA margins by 6+ percentage points.
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Establishing Growth Prospects, Margin Risk, CapEx Risk, and Operations Improvement Opportunities at Private Label Canned Food Manufacturer
In sync with the needs of each stage of the deal process, conducted phased customer, market, and operational due diligence, initially focusing on: 1) growth outlook – established the target’s category presence, identified key market trends, and built a model to project category growth; 2) competitive positioning – interviewed 27 PL and category buyers from supermarkets, wholesalers, food service companies, and brokers; and 3) CapEx and operational risk – visited the target’s 3 plants, assessed capacity, and reviewed operational improvement plans. After the client signed the LOI, Gotham conducted: a deep dive assessment of margin risk, using 7-year SKU-level price/margin data and outlook for major input cost drivers; and an in-depth operational diagnostic of material yield, direct labor, and inventory costs.
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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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