Case Studies

Consumer Packaging Manufacturer

Client Description
The client manufactures corrugated boxes with high-quality printed labeling for packaging a variety of consumer products. These boxes are presented on store shelves and contain coffee pots, footballs, software, etc. The lifetime of a particular package is generally less  than one year because the users of the packaging are constantly changing its appearance to try to catch the consumer’s eye and enhance sales. This means over 50% of orders are for a new package design. The client has three manufacturing sites in different states, on both the East and West coasts.

The Objective
The program was designed to increase on-time delivery to customers; to reduce order fulfillment cycle time and to improve manufacturing First Pass Yield (FPY); to decrease manufacturing waste (scrap) and to reduce machine downtime.

The Approach

STRUCTURE: A Leadership Team was formed that consisted of the Company President, the Vice President of Manufacturing, the Vice President of Sales, the Controller, the Customer Service Manager and the Plant Managers of each of the three manufacturing sites. After defining the key issues, several Multi-Functional Teams (MFTs) were chartered to meet the specific objectives. Issues that the MFTs could not resolve were brought to the Leadership Team through an escalation process.

In order to assure the three manufacturing plants were benefiting from each other’s cycles of learning, the plant MFTs were led by their respective plant managers and linked through weekly telephone conference reviews.
MEASUREMENTS: A key to success was putting proper measurements in place to ensure objectives were met. Existing measures were reviewed for appropriateness and new measures were installed where required. Cycle Time and First Pass Yield were identified as the major drivers, and increased customer responsiveness and on-time delivery were results of improving drivers.
PROTOCOL: For each objective, there was an owner on the Leadership Team who was also the team leader for the MFT aimed at improving that objective. All of the MFTs were aligned to the objectives through a series of interactive workshops with upper management, and the MFTs were linked to upper management on an ongoing basis through monthly reviews with the Leadership Team.

Each MFT began its improvement effort by analyzing the data, identifying barriers to improvement, prioritizing barriers that would yield the greatest results and defining action plans to remove those barriers. The MFTs met weekly to review progress, provide resources, etc.

Some teams mapped their processes to determine how work flowed and how the processes could be improved. These activities provided a breakthrough for the Team Members and the Leadership Team. Throughout the process, Affinity Partners trained, coached, provided direction and proposed solutions.

The Results
The program was a twelve-month engagement. At the end of that time, the client realized improvements that greatly impacted the efficiency of the operation. Download the case study at the top of this page to view the full table of results.

Comments
Today, the client continues to use the tools, measurements and management processes installed by Affinity Partners to drive improvement and manage the business.