Food Products Company

Situation -  50 year old food products company with strong seasonality, multiple products, multiple sales channels; fragmented, silo-ed organization:

·         Cumulative losses for years had depleted equity.

·         Excess facilities, capacity

·         Old, weak processes, ERP system.

·         Duplicate positions,

·         Money-losing products, pricing

Actions taken  - Multiple concurrent initiatives:

·         Plant consolidation; some new production designs

·         Permanent staff cut 50%

·         Recruited 6 new leaders

·         Major material flow revamp.

·         Lean methods, pull systems, visual signaling.

·         Supply chain – mixture of outsourcing, in-sourcing, and on-shoring of Asian purchased items.

·         Product rationalization – dropped over 500 SKUs.

·         Packaging redesign – consolidate materials.

Results – Profitable, positive cash flow in 2009.

·         Peak inventory cut 50%; millions.

·         Millions in fixed cost reductions

·         Upgraded ERP system to modern technology

·         Strong leadership; team fresh, collaborative.

·         Good positioning for 2010 & beyond.