Customer demanding operational improvements in return for a five year contract extension.

As the Continuous Improvement Manager, I was entrusted with a pivotal task: conducting a comprehensive end-to-end business review. The objective was crystal clear—identify operational improvement opportunities geared towards achieving enhanced productivity, waste reduction, and cost efficiency. Spanning the entirety of our operations, with the goal of not just refining processes but fundamentally elevating our performance metrics.

With the ultimate goal of the customer extending the contract.

To assist in controlling costs and delivery without sacrificing quality, a comprehensive assessment of existing processes was undertaken. Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, I identified areas ripe for optimisation without compromising the impeccable standards of our products or services. Implementing strategic cost-control measures, I refined operational workflows, scrutinised supply chains, and embraced innovative technologies to ensure efficiency without compromising quality.

Ensuring the right capabilities and capacity to deliver required a holistic approach. Through rigorous capacity planning and talent development initiatives, I aligned the workforce’s skill sets with evolving business needs. Simultaneously, strategic partnerships were forged to complement our capabilities, ensuring a robust infrastructure ready to meet escalating demands.

In collaboration with stakeholders, a rigorous validation process was implemented to ensure seamless alignment with the business strategy. Regular reviews and checkpoints were instituted, guaranteeing that every action and decision remained in harmony with the company’s overarching vision, thus mitigating late-stage risks or misalignments.

Through a combination of strategic interventions and collaborative problem-solving, I streamlined operations, minimising the occurrence of business challenges. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, I proactively addressed potential hurdles before they could escalate, fostering a more agile and resilient business environment.

By introducing streamlined workflows and optimising the use of production line assets, the initial productivity rate of 19% increased to an impressive 63%. This strategic overhaul didn’t just stop there—it also addressed the issue of waste. The team’s meticulous adjustments managed to decrease waste from 6.2% to a significantly leaner 3.8%. Turning the cost of waste into a profit making revenue stream.

As these improvements took hold, the average daily output rose from a modest 162,000 sheets to an astonishing 300,000. This remarkable upswing in output not only exceeded expectations but also marked a pivotal moment in the company’s performance. Empowering a disengaged print team to challenge the status quo, dispelling urban myths to create ownership for the print process creating a problem solving environment to deliver change from the bottom up.

Delivering increased credibility and confidence across the customers business through removing complexity and restrictions in the production environment. Creating clarity around the process and ability to quickly implement changes demonstrating business value through data driven decisions.

The successful extension of the contract stands as a testament to my unwavering commitment to excellence and the enduring trust placed in my relentless pursuit of exceeding expectations.

• Behavioural Change
• Business & Operational Analysis
• Change
• Continuous Improvement
• process improvement
• Productivity Improvement
• culture change facilitator
• coaching
• Business Operational Design
• process mapping

• Process Effectiveness & Automation

• Manufacturing