Overview of Project
Our client was a fast-growing technology manufacturer that had out-grown its operational processes and financial controls. In addition, the ownership of the client company was in dispute. Manchester's professionals put new controls and systems in place to help the client regain control of their financial transactions, as well as implemented a combination of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma principles to help them realize significant productivity improvements. Results included reducing manufacturing lead time from 70 to 2 days, reducing days inventory from 360 to 160, and a 15% increase in sales.

The Challenge
As demand for the company's 100-plus products grew, the number of jobs demanded of its production floor increased. However, the harder production worked, the further behind it became. For example, finished goods inventories increased, but at the time we were engaged the client had been operating with a backorder for 13 consecutive months.

The Engagement
Our firm was initially engaged to assist ownership in settling a dispute and to implement necessary financial controls, which included Interim CFO services. However, once the company was stabilized, our client was able to focus on improving its daily operations, and we were hired for an additional engagement to improve productivity and efficiencies.

The Solution
After an assessment of the production area, our professionals recommended implementing a combination of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma processes in order to leverage the strengths of each concept.

The Impact
As a result of our "Lean Six Sigma" processes, our client reduced manufacturing lead time from 70 to 2 days, reduced days inventory from 360 to 160, ended its backorder problems, and increased sales revenues by 15%. In addition, by gaining 50% more production in existing square footage, our client scrapped its plans to add a $5 million expansion to its production floor.