interim management

I was contracted for a period of 12 months to improve the manufacturing and operations of a £3m T/O pizza and specialist chilled food business.

 

The customer needed to transition their kitchen-style production into a controlled production facility to reduce wastage, improve product consistency and increase gross profit and improve cash flow.

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Following a manufacturing audit, 5 key issues were identified for action before improvement targets could be set.

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Internal communications – Silo mindsets were replaced by making employees engage with the whole process. Operatives were trained in job sharing which created a more cohesive, empathetic team. Team KPIs were developed to monitor and continually improve efficiencies and employee satisfaction.

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Stock control – The business had lost control of its material stock resulting in wastage, sales order shortages and unnecessary money tied up in stock. Storage of packaging, chilled, ambient and frozen foods were sorted, set in order and systems were put in place for the physical recording and requisitioning of stock.

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Manufacturing – Improved production planning was needed to make smarter decisions on volumes of manufacturing. Operatives and the production planner were trained in each other’s jobs to create empathy and improve communications so that forward planning matched the customers’ needs with available manufacturing resources.

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Food safety – The business had no audited food safety management system. I mentored the Technical Manager to prepare the business for SALSA certification.

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Metrics – There were no systems to allow for manufacturing/business data to be fed into management decisions. I implemented an MRP system from order capture through manufacturing and despatch which improved access to information and therefore improved decision making.

 

Fixing changes - To secure all the changes, I implemented a training matrix and installed a system of employee KPIs which fed into a newly created company dashboard which gave the owner operator real time information on 6 key manufacturing metrics.

 

•  £ per employee

•  Kg per employee

•  Employee satisfaction

•  Customer satisfaction

•  Wastage percentage

•  Stock holding to T/O ratio

 

 

Wins - The efficiencies that I created allowed for a one-person reduction in the management team and one production operative saving over £80k p.a.

 

The stock control programme that I implemented helped reduce ingredient/packaging wastage by 50% (£60k p.a.). And improved cash flow.

 

The movement away from batch production in the pizza department towards more team cohesion (towards one piece flow) resulted in a 20% increase in production capacity.  

 

The improved food safety management system allowed the company to secure a new client (£200k p.a. T/O).

 

The company dashboard contributed to the management team sharing common goals and delivered increased cohesion. Employee interviews confirmed that they were overall more content with the more proactive and supportive management style that was the result of my coaching.

 

Each improvement programme was given its own scope and timeline, and each one was delivered on time and within budget.