Product Introduction & Retirement Process
Redesigning Product Development Process to Increase Competitiveness at Tier 1 Automotive Interior Supplier
Developed a product development strategy that enabling affordable business structure and increase competitiveness. Created a balanced set of in-process, predictive performance metrics and a design structure matrix which enabled the development process to handle changes more efficiently and to minimize iteration loops. Project resulted in a proactive, cost- effective ability to ensure high quality product, reduced resource requirements, and an affordable, more competitive product development cost structure.
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Developing Category Management Capabilities with Item-level Strategies at Large Direct Marketing Company
Worked with the senior merchandising team to develop capabilities and strategies for all key elements that constitute strategic merchandising -- assortment strategy, new product introduction, catalog/web placement strategy, product lifecycle strategy, and pricing strategy. With strategic approach, CatalogCo now meeting SKU targets, properly planning media placement, and able to identify and fill gaps in assortment.
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Quick-win Engineering and Material Cost Reductions at International Custom Machine Tools Designer and Manufacturer
Conducted 4-week diagnostic to understand drivers of ongoing margin erosion (~10% point gap between quoted margin vs. realized margin) that identified $1.7-2.7MM in quick-win cost savings opportunities in 3 key areas: robust, cross-functional quoting and engineering processes with formal involvement of engineering in the quoting process and proactive management of hours/scope in the engineering process; material spend reduction by implementing cost-focused (vs. “get the parts in”) purchasing process/tools, renegotiating/ establishing contracts with key vendors, and standardizing parts to leverage volume; and selective migration of engineering to India, starting with detailed engineering and phasing in higher skill activities. Execution assistance included: creating vendor negotiation strategy and vendor packages for top vendors (6-20% savings already realized); crafting quoting and engineering process end-vision; and developing a detailed capture plan with timeline for all targeted savings.
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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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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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Strategic Merchandising to Drive Growth at Large Catalog Retailer
Led transformation of merchandising group from item-pickers for catalogs to fact-based multi-channel category managers. Started with assortment optimization, quickly yielding ~$7MM in savings. Then developed processes for all key elements of strategic merchandising and supporting planning and reporting tools. Transformation has positioned CatalogCo to grow top-line and EBITDA via fact-based precision and a new agility in new product, placement, and ad-spend decision-making.
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