Case Studies - Technical


FMCG Frozen Desserts: Operational Excellence to improve Gross Margins by 5-10%

Challenge

A European frozen dessert manufacturer produced a range of own-label, branded and food-service desserts to several leading UK retailers, with a turnover of ~£22m/annum.

The client was under pressure to significantly improve the quality and margins on it's existing portfolio, whilst also developing a range of more sophisticated products as part of a £2.8m site expansion, to meet the increasing customer demands and drive growth in the UK dessert market.

Approach

Indigo were appointed as the company of choice to analyze, co-create and deliver an operational excellence program over 36 weeks. Working side-by-side with employees at all levels, the Indigo team conducted a 4-week review of all aspects of the operation. The key to hitting the targeted 15% increase in OEE, was to improve the availability of critical machines at times of greatest demand, and also focus operators and management on product quality and finish, rather than just volume produced.

Indigo followed their Operational Excellence process, click here to view the diagram.

Driving an Operational Excellence Program requires accurate, real-time information that shapes decisions and fosters a culture of acting on those decisions quickly and effectively. The new Management System made a quick and dramatic impact. Daily communication and interaction between management and shop floor spread a new confidence.

Cross-functional teams from Operations, Maintenance, Product-Development and Food-Technology used the new information and structured problem-solving techniques to pin-point key issues to be addressed and developed action-plans to resolve them with clear accountability and deadlines.

An improved Maintenance Management System was also introduced to increase machine reliability and cycle-time-compress change-overs, to guarantee that existing lines could handle the increased sales volumes.

A joint Maintenance and Development team also installed and commissioned the £2.8m line, designed to deliver the new range of more complex cakes & gateaux

New user-friendly Process-Controls were designed and installed to enable all key operators across the 3-shifts, to standardize their way of working and improve product throughput and reduce both material variance and waste.

Across the plant, the program was getting more out of both people and machines and potential that had previously been recognized, was now being realized.

Results

In 36 weeks, the team had risen to the challenge set by the Board. They achieved the OEE targets across their product portfolio and improved both their sales and gross margins. The success had instant, knock-on benefits across other parts of the business group.

  • Labour variance reduced by 30%
  • Material variance & waste minimized within budget
  • OEE Improved by 15-30% across all products
  • Gross Margins improved by 5-10%
  • Shop floor and Management team driving continuous improvement

Perhaps the most satisfying outcome for everyone was the step-change in culture. The desire to accelerate change, with the site management team setting increasingly ambitious long-term goals - confident that their re-energized organisation was ready and willing to meet them.

Client Quotes

  • "What a result! We were skeptical at first, but within weeks we were starting to see the results of our efforts, which increased confidence in our own ability and the belief in the stretching targets we had outlined at the start of the program." Site General Manager
  • "Indigo gets the job done and get the results that they expect. They come-in, assess and deliver. They also stay long-enough to clearly demonstrate sustainable change in the organisation."
    Operations Director

Contact:

+44 (0)7970 279 333
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