Productivity improvement

Our client is a leading Canadian manufacturer of plastic profile systems for the window and door market.

Aware of the importance of the logistics function to support the announced growth, the company has embarked on a process of optimizing its operations. A recent project carried out by the GCL Group made it possible to highlight the shortcomings of the logistics function and its inability to support any growth. The causes identified by the GCL Group included the lack of WMS, lack of warehouse space as well as lack of rigour in the processes put in place. The main challenges to overcome: many non-inventoried and non-standard products in the warehouse, change management to ensure rigour in compliance with new optimized procedures and in the use of the WMS.

Assessment of order preparation operations (2 months):

• Develop a method for characterizing stocks in order to reduce them, optimize management and productivity;
• Develop a master plan for the warehouse and propose a redevelopment plan with a global vision (production and logistics);
• Document and review the current logistics processes (internal and external) in order to make the level of service reliable;
• Implement the WMS in order to optimize productivity and improve the quality of operations.

Coordination and implementation of recommendations (3 months):

• Establishment of a continuous improvement team to oversee the implementation of recommendations;
• Coaching of teams and discussion of specifics;
• Monitoring of performance indicators and feedback if required;

• Optimization of operations, increase in productivity and decrease in inventory;
• Training of super-users and users of the WMS systems.