500M
High Speed Laminate Manufacturer
Improve Manufacturing Utilization and Lower Cost
Factory Utilization in Low 50% Range
Despite closing of one US factory, factory utilization continues to hover around 50%
Very Low Ability to Model Factory Consolidation, Changes, Bottlenecks, and Throughout
Company using outdated spreadsheets to model only four of seven factories
Critical Questions
How Can Laminate Co Adopt a Focused Factory Strategy and Improve Utiliziation and Factory Costs (Gross Margins)?
What is the layout, and what machines are used in each factory?
What data is available to model capacity, bottlenecks, labor shifts, and other key production elements?
Can more production volume be migrated to low-cost countries? How much CAPEX is needed?
How will factory consolidation and the shifting of volumes across factories impact customer deliveries (lead times)?
Answers and Outcomes
Build a global factory simulation model, including updated information of machines used, tak time, layouts, shifts, and other production elements
Working with management team, run 50 scenarios to understand options, including new bottlenecks created, machine upgrades needed, labor shift options.
Final plan called for closing of specialized plant and migration of volumes to various plants in lower cost coutnries.
Final plan called for opening of inventory locations near major US West Coast customers to keep (or improve) customer delviery times.
Complications
Little data to model capacity or bottlenecks
Company produces both WIP project for sale and finished goods. Need to model both.
Factory managers not familiar with simulation, and training needed.
