Case Studies

PACKAGING - "BEATING THE COMMODITY PRICE SQUEEZE"

The Opportunity: Under increasing cost pressures from imports and rising commodity prices, a flexible packaging manufacturer needed to develop the skills of its front line people to deliver significant improvement.

Client Success: 20% speed increase on critical machinery (5% above target) and a 15% raw material savings through smarter set-up of jobs.

Implementing Change: When increasing commodity prices and razor-thin margins have squeezed costs from every area thought possible, there is significant opportunity for people with the right mindset and determination.

Denken challenged the Operations Management to reassess their performance from the 'ground up.' By taking a zero-based approach, the Denken consulting team were able to demonstrate opportunity beyond the existing targets and opened the client to a new realm of operational performance.

As part of the engagement, the Denken consulting team facilitated several improvement initiatives that engaged directly with the shop floor, using well-known improvement tools.

The team went on to break through the 'speed barrier' and delivered results that added to the bottom line and secured new contracts with customers. By working side-by-side at every level, the Denken consulting team developed a deep understanding of the operations. This informed view helped the rewiring of the operations management processes to drive rapid and enduring performance improvement.