Strategic Planning

Strategy

• Developed the strategic plan for integrating manufacturing facilities of an acquired entity for a Private Equity firm
• Worked with a $250M consumer products company to revitalize their 5 year strategic plan and implement new strategic planning and strategic execution processes
• Developed the strategic plan for an Internet of Things ( IoT) company
• Created the strategic plan for a wearable medical device company
• Designed and implemented the manufacturing strategy, manufacturing systems, work stations, shop floor layout for a firearms company
• Created a market study for a client in the financial services industry who was considering the acquisition of two bolt on franchises
• Facilitated the development of a 5 year strategic plan for a local healthcare group that is facing significant headwinds in regulation and funding using Group50’s strategic planning process
• Worked with the Board of Directors of a home manufacturer on governance issues they were facing.
• Developed and began the implementation of a 5 year customer service plan for a $80MM/yr. medical device company with operations on 3 continents.
• Wrote a business plan with a full set of financials for an EB-5 investment project for a hotel, land and a restaurant.
• Developed a manufacturing and distribution strategy for a medical device company that included both in-sourcing and out-sourcing.
• Created a strategy for a medical device company to increase their production 50 fold designing a cellular approach that allowed them to easily move production capacity around the world.
• Facilitated a multi-day meeting with a $250M publicly traded company to define their 3 year strategic plan objectives
• As interim CEO Automated Wheel Finishers, a start-up manufacturer of complex finishing systems for automotive wheels, I was recruited by the board to assess the viability of the company’s product. They had lost all of their customers, so we focused on business development, and completing an analysis of the technology of the company and its capabilities to deliver projected results.
• Executive Chairman with Pankl Aerospace, a manufacturer of rotating flight safety parts. Engaged by corporate parent to work with management team to implement best practices and significantly improve the performance of the supply chain.
• Board member with Green Wireless Systems, a wireless technology start-up company for the irrigation industry. Worked with the company to develop their go-to-market plans, technology platform and funding strategies.
• Developed a business plan and operational system for a Business to Business Peer network called The Global Leaders. Provided business development expertise, product/services road map and business plan.
• Completed a business review of a $30M precision machining Aerospace company
• Strategic Supply chain review for the U.S. Postal Service. Created and delivered a 3 day Cost and Price Analysis
• Worked with a medical device manufacturer developing and implementing a long term organization strategy, new processes and a redesign of their supply chain to enable them to successfully navigate significant growth
• Worked with a polystyrene recycling company to develop its business plan, start-up strategy and go to market plans

Cost Takeout

• Completed an “order to cash” cost take out for a division of a public company in the healthcare space identifying and leading the implementation of $15M in annualized savings. Identified 600 opportunities and addressed 68% of them via 5 projects. Group50 was engaged to lead the implementation of these projects which yielded better than anticipated results. Project s primarily used Value Stream Mapping
• Completed a cost takeout review in a $90M division of a public company in the healthcare space identifying over $8.0M in cost reductions and incremental sales opportunities
• Reduced annual and working capital cost of a $400M division of a public company by $14M in a wall to wall review of the division. Identified over 400 improvement opportunities and addressed 75% of them via 12 projects. Worked on the implementation of 4 of them
• During the course of a cost improvement project, we identified a cost takeout opportunity in a client’s supply chain. By centralizing their purchasing function we were able to identify more than $10M in synergies and sourcing rationalization programs
• Identified and led the implementation of 120 projects in a $300M multi-site consumer products company worth $15M. Implemented 80% of the projects with a first year affect of $14M and an annualized rate of $19M.
• Worked a cost takeout project in a $270M multi-=site consumer products company. We identified and implemented 4 supply chain, manufacturing transfer and integration projects totaling $24M in annualized savings
• Restructured a $200M division of a $3.2B consumer products company leading to a $30M swing in YOY profitability. See the case study here.

Integrating Acquired Companies

• Integrated two manufacturing facilities for a bolt on acquisition of a Private Equity portfolio company in the LED lighting industry
• Worked on the integration of a convention company developing organizational design recommendations
• Worked on integration of Coleman, First Alert, Mr. Coffee and Health-o-Meter into Sunbeam. Project included development and implementation of synergies, organization staffing and cultural integration
• Part of integration team of Emhart into Black & Decker, with a focus on business processes, sales integration and implementation of corporate reporting systems for operations
• Integrated Champion Irrigation into Arrowhead Brass. Integrated manufacturing and distribution. The Integration of sales and marketing required a full redesign of go to market plans, pricing models and integration of customer accounts into one system
• Integrated two acquired materials converter companies into parent, establishing new organizational structure and consolidated facilities. Halted market attrition of prior entities. Combined companies became a market leader in materials conversion within 24 months
• Acquired a key materials supplier and integrated it into the parent company generating $2+M in operating profit gains, improving systems and business process with no significant loss of key personnel
• Integrated finance organization and financial reporting systems for Qwest Communications’ acquisition of U.S. West Communications
• Worked on the acquisition of a chemicals mixing operation in Ohio with a focus on gaining more Midwest presence for client. Completing due diligence, integration planning and environmental study

Financial and Operational Restructuring

• Restructured an early stage medical device company with poor performance and a dysfunctional management team by splitting the company into two entities and refocusing the company on its core products and technology. Worked with them to acquired Series C funding.
• Centralized purchasing for a $500M public company after analysis indicated that the company had over 1,900 vendors for a $140M spend with and average annual vendor churn of over 30%
• Advised a publicly traded company on how to restructure itself to optimize its financial performance, combining several divisions and core back office activities that were being duplicated
• Recovered 90% of lost schedule and $1.0M in overruns on a $10M product initiative
• Led the effort to turnaround an Aerospace company through process and supply chain redesign
• Restructured a $200M consumer product business in less than 18 months, realizing 15% improvement in profitability in the first year
• Financially restructured a consumer products company while keeping all of the original investors in the ownership structure
• Consolidated operations in a consumer products company to a single plant and new DC. Redirected its sales effort to retail, increasing sales 50% in that channel of distribution
• On a contract basis, stepped in to initiate a turnaround of a struggling $25M/year producer of residential and commercial heating systems. Within 3 months, had stabilized the business, moved toward breakeven, and started to reorganize the operation for the successor permanent manager.
• As general manager of this industrial products company, returned this $8M plant to profitability. Successfully negotiated first ever labor agreement, and reduced headcount by 20% to save over $600K costs.
• As president, directed the turnaround of an $11M truck body and equipment manufacturer/distributor. Regained profitability from two-year loss of $1.5M to $176K profit through focus on shipments and cost management. Renegotiated lines of credit to establish new product lines and engineering improvements.

Business Process Re-engineering

• Evaluated the purchasing systems for a mid-level private university. Utilizing Kaizen and other continuous improvement tools, we established a purchasing council that was able to centralize buying power, improved acquisition systems and standardize processes saving $3-5M per year.
• A $400M consumer goods company was experiencing significantly long lead times for product in their supply chain and bloated inventories. In need of a Value Stream Map of their SIOP (Sales, Inventory, Operations and Planning) processes, they called on Group50 to undertake the review. Such a process encompasses the horizontal business processes from initial sales forecasts to delivery of finished goods across all channels. The company sells through multiple channels, domestically and globally. Due to the company’s structure, procedures, policies and channel requirements, the SIOP process was extremely complex, with varying methods being used to create the initial forecast and convert it into an operational plan. Each channel within the business had unique needs for inventory, customer service, and product lines along with unique geographies and business entities. Our objective was to document the current state of the SIOP process and provide the company with a future state SIOP strategy that included process improvements in both the underlying supply chain and technologies that support it as well as moving toward implementing an OMNI Channel Strategy. Group50 conducted 53 interviews, with internal team members from all channels and support functions, documenting current processes for all channels and conducting a Value Stream Mapping Process, designed to document the entire SIOP process, process flows, and its support systems, with team members from multiple channels and support functions. The project was completed over a 4-week period by two consultants. Group50 identified approximately $2.27M in annual savings in operating costs and approximately $15M in inventory reduction opportunities for the company. We also identified a significant reduction in lead times from forecast to delivery by 40%, moving them close to the top of their competitors in responsiveness to the direct and retail channels. We provided the company with a roadmap to improve upon processes in their underlying supply chain and as well as systems to enable the company to fully realize these results.
• Completed a review of the Accounting systems and Financial reporting systems for a 102 store fast food chain. Focused on technology, organization and business structure. Made multiple technology and business process improvement recommendations
• Redesigned the Maintenance, Construction and Fleet Management function for a private university identifying over $4M in savings
• Design and implemented a new Product Development process for a US based division of a multi-billion dollar Japanese company.
• Completed a review of the customer service organization and its business processes utilizing Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and made over 40 recommendations regarding ways to streamline the customer service processes and leverage existing and new technologies.
• Re-designed and implemented a “Delivery Review Board” process for a company that designs and produces highly engineered products for customers around the world. This process covered all activities from Tender through to site acceptance.
• Re-designed the process for scheduling products at multiple plants
• Led the transformation of an enterprise MRP system from batch manufacturing to continuous flow manufacturing
• Redesigned the product development process in several middle market companies significantly reducing time to market and strategic focus
• Converted fully manual system into an SAP/MRP–driven process for distribution from over a dozen global manufacturing sites to a nationwide network of 19 public warehouses in highly seasonal $300MM crop protection chemicals business.
• Designed/delivered global platform for customer complaint management, with dashboards and Quality Scorecards for a multi-billion dollar corporation and by business:
  1. Complaint rate for service and documentation issues dropped 36% (1.4% of deliveries to 0.9%)
  2. Warranty payments granted for quality issues dropped 50% (0.32% of sales to 0.16%).
  3. Resolution timeliness improved by 40%, Closure timeliness improved by 55%

Continuous Improvement

• Client wanted to implement Lean Manufacturing in their facility. Redesigned inventory controls processes, stockrooms as well as designed a new plant layout. Supported client implementation through entire project.
• Completed a review of the customer service organization and its business processes utilizing Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and made over 40 recommendations regarding ways to streamline the customer service processes and leverage existing and new technologies inside a $80MM/year medical device company.
• Created a Value Stream Map for a $400+M company with locations around the world and identified $14M in immediate and short term cost savings. Recommended multiple organization and system strategies that would significantly increase throughput and reduce lead times in critical business processes. Recommended multiple projects aimed at taking out 45% of inventory as well.
• Developed and implemented a company wide program for a battery pack manufacturer to restructure its manufacturing operations utilizing lean techniques: one piece flow, production on demand, Kanban and trained the operations and manufacturing team on DFM techniques.
• Reduced product lead times from over 100 weeks to less than 50 in an aerospace company and significantly improved the reliability of their supply chain.
• Project to review the performance of a plant for Bodycote, a worldwide heat treating company. Identified a series of changes implemented during the project which realized significant improvements in efficiency and customer service.
• Organizational review for a multi-plant bakery and summary performance reviews of each plant and their operations
• Led 5 Kaizen events in a OEM manufacturer realizing over $1M in annual savings, a significant reduction in working capital and move toward on demand production
• Led over 40 Kaizen events in a $400M manufacturing facility and was the one of three US training facilities for Shingijutsu
• Worked with Mexican, Far Eastern, European and US Operations introducing Kaizen and standardized push/pull inventory improving productivity over 20%
• Introduced ‘Kaizen’ lean manufacturing improvement processes at a consumer durable factory, reducing labor cost $850K, improving finished product quality by 50% and creating 23K square feet of manufacturing space for needed manufacturing expansion.
• Implemented a ‘lean manufacturing’ approach to an industrial product’s operation, allowing for management and consolidation of an aged New England plant. The consolidation and relocation of operations to North Carolina was completed without creating market or cost disruptions. Eliminated redundant costs of $1.7M.
• Developed ‘just in time’ delivery process to increase service levels to +98% on an expanded industrial products business (over 3,000 SKU’s) by developing strategic Kanban inventory and fast turnaround manufacturing processes.
• Implemented lean manufacturing processes at two different SE Asian manufacturing operations, achieving 15 – 20% yearly improvements in labor, and more than 5% annual cost savings
• Spearheaded the creation of a Quality Practices Assessment Tool, defining simple criteria for evaluating compliance with 20 key business practices critical for delivering lower complaint rates, higher on-time shipments, excellent quality results, and capability for more reliable innovation and used to drive Quality Manager commitments.
• Constructed and administered the “TQ Appraisal Survey” as pre-cursor to factory re-design efforts in the move toward becoming a “high-involvement” organization, published in ASQC’s Quality Progress in November 1991
• Re-designed the QC test organization to expand responsibilities and increase efficiency. Plant output increased by over 50% while department size dropped by 14%, and morale improved
• Reduced test failures from over 30% to 0% of glass spheres produced for the Navy by Corning Glass Works..

Supply Chain Rationalization

• Optimized the distribution and logistics processes for a recycling company
• Completed a Value Stream Map for a global manufacturing company with operations in the US, Far East and Europe. Identified greater than $10 million in cost and working capital reductions, while decreasing lead times for product by 75%
• Completed a total cost of ownership study: Mexico vs. China for a middle market medical device company.
• Implemented a supplier scorecard system in a globally sourced supply chain. Scorecard consisted of quality, cost effectiveness, lead time reduction and continuous improvement KPI’s
• Improved inventory turns in a global company from 4 to 16 in two years
• Implemented training courses for a supply chain team to teach them how to manage a multi-distribution supply chain
• Implemented a strategy to move production to Mexico and convert a medical device company’s distribution operations to a muli-location 3PL provider in both the US and Europe.
• Redesigned the North American supply chain strategy (manufacturing and distribution) for a company that yielded significant reduction in COGS and distribution costs.
• Completed a study of manufacturing cost effectiveness in 89 countries
• Developed and implemented a program to add more off-shore suppliers for a manufacturing company, reducing risk and cost.
• Significantly reduced total cost for a manufacturer by identifying multiple design and manufacturing partners in both Mexico and China. This lead to a significant reduction in lead time for new products
• Created a manufacturing strategic plan for a medical device company to significantly increase their production of a needle free syringe to over 100 million units per year, which included domestic and off shore programs.
• Led Sunbeam’s rationalization project, reducing the number of distribution and manufacturing facilities from 26 to 14
• Planned and executed the move of Black & Decker’s US based appliance manufacturing operations to China and Mexico
• Consolidated 3 plants into a greenfield site for a private equity group. Developed project management schedule, line layouts, rationalization of product lines and machining/assembly centers.
• Established a standalone Hong Kong Company, with engineering, quality assurance, program management and logistics functions, to manage the $70M/year S.E. Asian sourced products purchases for a large consumer product company’s North American markets.
• Directed a multi-site manufacturing transfer program, moving $170M/year of manufacturing volume from a consumer products U.S. facility to Mexican and Chinese operations – $24M project with estimated savings of $10M/year – completed on time and 7% under budget.
• Developed and implemented a contract manufacturing business plan, developing over $30M in annual sales for North American customers not experienced in SE Asian sourcing. Located and developed network of capable, cost competitive suppliers in SE Asia in areas of industrial and consumer durables, electronics, plastics, materials, toys, offering turn-key product development and program management of complex new projects, using proven engineering, development, and manufacturing partners.
• Led product development, sourcing, and program management activities for 22 new consumer products to be introduced in 2004/05. Working with domestic engineering, marketing, design, and suppliers in SE Asia, on track to successfully complete this $5M project.
• Designed and implemented a new facility to produce components for houseware products in Malaysia
• Consolidated operations in a consumer products company to a single plant and new DC
• Black & Decker master scheduling process improvement results (lean/JIT manufacturing site in Queretaro, Mexico):
  1. Expanded role from handling 2 dozen US skus in 3 product lines to 170 skus across 12 product lines for both North and South America over a 3-year period.
  2. Increased inventory turns by >50%, reduced out-of-stocks by 30%; reduced time to issue manufacturing’s daily shipment schedule from 25 days to 12 & created customized reports for each commercial office.
• Cycle Time Reduction for R&D/Commercialization process: Created new collaboration platform and reduced cycle time from 6+ weeks to less than 5 days for Commercial Teams to request new SKUs and production trials.

Cost Improvements

• Relocated manufacturing operations in Europe, Southeast Asia, North America and Eastern Europe for faster supply chain response, resulting in 50% landed cost reductions
• A major consumer product company had high quality costs and poor packaging design that lead to dissatisfaction at the retail location. Designed an internal and external product effectiveness audit that led to a re-design of the product line addressing these issues, reducing quality costs by 75% and calls/100 units by 90%.
• Created an offshore Center of Excellence (CoE) from the ground up including people redeployment and implementation of service level agreements (SLA)

Capital Project Management

• Created a manufacturing strategic plan for a medical device company to significantly increase their production of a needle free syringe to over 100M units per year, which included domestic and off shore programs.
• Designed and project managed the implementation of a new plant to manufacture safety razors in the Chzek Republic
• Developed and implemented a $10M program to redesign a high volume packing and distribution facility
• Designed and implemented a distribution center for a medical device company

Operations

• Med Surge RN Productivity: The goal of this project was to improve patient care and nurse productivity by eliminating waste in I.V. Pump Distribution Process. I.V. pumps were a scarce resource. Med Surge units never had enough. However, after an inventory was conducted the number of actual pumps exceeded the number of beds by 30%. Unfortunately the pumps they did find were in disrepair or needed calibration and cleaning. Consequently nurses were trained to hide pumps and to perform scavenger hunts. 10,950 total hours were lost per year searching for pumps. After mapping process from beginning to end, a team designed a pull system to retrieve and deliver pumps via a delivery route with visual triggers. They Established work instructions and key points sheets that everyone agreed to. The system was tested and audited for effectiveness then deployed across 17 units. A key to the new process was after use pumps were cleaned and repaired daily. 10,950 hours were returned back to patient care at the bedside (the equivalent of 5.5 FTE’s). Flow time for pump replenishment reduced from 105 minutes to 5 minutes, staff satisfaction improved and a patient centered process was in place.
• Ophthalmology Room Turnover: Reduced turnover time in the Ophthalmology OR using Lean techniques. Previous room turn was 12 minutes and the improved turnover was under 8 minutes and trending down. The team used a Lean technique called SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die). It is one of the many Lean methods for reducing process waste and of improving room turn times and improving patient flow. The reduced room turn time resulted in a 25% increase in Ophthalmology cases with no increase in staffing.
• Accounts Receivable: Redesigned post discharge Medical Record flow process to eliminate backlogs and delays in coding. This included Level Loading the Coder process and the use of daily improvement visual management tools. The results of this project reduced “Charts Not Coded within 5 days” from over 10,000 to zero and 17% reduction in Accounts Receivable days (DSO) from 65.7 days to 58.7 days or a one time cash improvement of $11,200,000.
• Materials Management: Redesigned inpatient unit supply management process resulting in Materials Management taking over all supply ordering and stocking responsibilities from nursing. This change saved 88 minutes per nurse, per shift creating a total savings opportunity of $3.5 million. Increased patient care/education time with nurses resulted in contribution to a 6% increase in patient satisfaction from 87 to 91 percent. Core measure compliance also increased by 26% from 74 to 100 percent compliance.
• Emergency Department: Redesigned patient flow to include a “Treat and Release” component designed to immediately identify non-acute patients and expedite their diagnoses, treatment and release. This allowed more acute patients to receive more timely care and free up capacity to treat more patients per shift. Performance improvements included 13% of total ED volume now managed through Treat and Release, a $600,000 increased net revenue annually and 44% reduction in Left Without Treatment.
• Echocardiography & Peripheral Vascular Lab: Used visual management and defect reduction tools to improve patient service while reducing costs. Improvements include increased testing capacity of more than 300 patients annually, a $72,600 increased annual revenue and a $94,000 cost reduction related to productivity improvements
• Medical Records: Learned to see workflow defects and used problem solving techniques to reduce charts in backlog and days from discharge to ready for billing. Improvements included, charts in backlog eliminated (10,000 charts), new daily processes moved days in DNFC (discharge, not final coded) from an average of 7 days to less than 4.5 days, helped to drive Days in A/R down from 68 to 52 for a savings of $11,000,000, reduced time to complete monthly accounts coding process from 7 days to ½ day, allowed recurring accounts to be billed within 2 days of discharge instead of 7 or more.
• Patient Accounting: Coordinated virtual workspace for 3 departments related to patient accounts on hold for billing. These accounts are routinely placed on hold to review for appropriate documentation prior to billing. Work is coordinated between the 3 departments using triggers and a centralized virtual workspace. Improvements included Charts in the queue reduced from 257 daily to 58 daily, Dollars on hold reduced from $10 million to $1.6 million daily and Staff time reduced from 4.5 hours to 2 hours daily.
• Clinician Documentation of Nursing Care & Care Planning: Developed an innovative approach to manual documentation over a 90-day period to reduce waste, eliminate redundancy, improve flow of information, tighten connections between patient care and documentation and improve transparency of patient care. Realized a 55% overall time reduction per nurse from 6.1 hours per day to 3.3 hours per day, >$30,000 reduction in printing costs, 180 minutes returned to patient care per nurse per shift, 40% reduction of paperwork to handle daily reporting, reduction of $11,712,221 in Nursing time to apply to patient care.

OR

• OR Charge Capture: Using a Kaizen event technique, a team developed new Standard Work flows for Specialty ordered patient supplies and the use of equipment services. Redeveloped core charge levels and created work instructions to use them as appropriate. The result included an annual revenue increase of $1.12 million.
• OR Throughput: This improvement focused on Central Processing and the availability, quality and turnaround of surgical instruments. Over the course of four events teams implemented a high performing work place organization, visual management, standard work and pull systems. Central Processing productivity increased 18%, and surgical instrument turnaround improved 52%.

Discharge Management

• Inter-disciplinary team designed improved inpatient care management processes which includes Visual Management tools such as Production Control Boards and daily team huddle standard work to better coordinate care and avoid discharge delays. ALOS reduced by close to 20% while access capacity increased by 75 patients per day with no increase in staffing.
• Hospital Transfers: Created a lean process to manage inpatient transfers from around the region. Improvements included clear standard work as well as better coordination and communication between facilities. The results included the avoiding 327 inappropriate patient transfers in first year with a financial impact of $6.1 million in non-reimbursable costs.

Product and Portfolio Management

• Reduced SKU count, improved profitability and streamlined inventory methods without affecting sales by implementing a product rationalization program for B2B manufacturer. Developed a repeatable process and regular reports to identify future rationalization targets.
• Developed and implemented cross-functional process flow map for updating and maintaining consignment inventory for B2B manufacturer providing products to OEM partner. Process resulted in improved cooperation across departments, elimination of work duplication and faster implementation of product updates.
• Led the identification, development and nurturing of new opportunities in renovation market to generate growth to replace revenue lost due to economic slowdown for international division of B2B manufacturer.
• Repositioned a portfolio of medical wearable products to sell into the consumer market while the company worked on FDA approval for their core products
• Developed and implemented a global new product management system to organize and manage over 300 new product development products at a consumer products company worth more than $200 M/year in incremental business
• Designed and implemented product manager training at large consumer products company training over 25 new product managers
• Implemented and broadened application of a “razor/blades” strategy for a leading consumer products company, applying an extremely successful strategy from one business to a “sister” SBU. Efforts vitalized the targeted business to accelerate sales to double-digit growth and a much-strengthened brand.
• Developed and launched a line of new, innovative “social expression” products, helping a leading office products company move from simply functional products into higher-involvement products, strengthening its brand accordingly.
• Implemented a program called the “Product Lifecycle Revenue Model” which focused on product revenue generation throughout its total lifecyle….. sale to end of life
• Reviewed the product programs for a middle market hi-tech company and implemented a program to pare under-performing products from their portfolio to free up resources inside the company, improvement profitability and focus on the product platforms that were going to provide sustained growth

Product Development and Implementation

• Developed and implemented a program to pre-build custom automobile protection accessory products during the holiday sales period resulting in double digit sales growth, improved delivery times and a 75% decrease in post-holiday product returns.
• Design and implemented a new Product Development process for a US based division of a multi-billion dollar Japanese company.
• Worked with the UK operations of a multinational company to get a $100M highly engineered product program into production. Resolved several critical design and manufacturing issues that existed in the product and in 4 short months the business was able to ship 3 times as much product as they had built in the previous 3 years.
• Program managed a $13M product program in the consumer products industry that was $1.0M over budget and 6 months behind schedule. Worked with a US based product division of a large multinational company and its Mexico source to bring the project in on time and on budget.
• Worked with a PE backed start-up as the interim CEO in the automotive industry to develop an effective product strategy, complete the design and test product effectiveness.
• Led a team in a $220M seasonal consumer product business to redesign its full product portfolio and designed and implemented a flow manufacturing strategy to support it resulting in a $30M swing in profitability over an 18 month period.
• Designed and Implemented a $15M new product program which resulted in the most successful product launch in Black & Decker’s history. This project include complex molds, automation and high volume production.
• Developed application-optimized products, branding, packaging, communications and specialty retail distribution for a formerly pure-play B2B products company. Efforts drove extensive new distribution and retail “billboard effect” strengthened the company’s brand, with benefits spilling over into its other lines.
• Implemented a multi stage gate product development process that focused on the proper ideation and justification of new product programs resulting in a 25% reduction in development to sales lead times

Marketing

• Implemented sales force and a customized configuration product across three businesses fin a PE rollup
• Introduced social media presence and implemented consistent branding guidelines for a B2B manufacturer resulting in improved branding, updated literature, increased trade show activity and increased lead generation
• Significantly improved online ratings and reviews on Yelp, Facebook, Google and Amazon for B2C automotive accessories manufacturer. Implemented a structured customer-service response program and customer-centered approach to maintain high ratings
• Introduced first e-mail marketing campaign for small B2B manufacturer to help drive demand and promote product line introductions. Resulted in increased leads for retail partners and improved communication
• Developed and implemented customer segmentation program for manufacturer in the residential construction industry to help sales team and distribution partners better promote features and benefits of product line based on the needs and desires of the type of customer targeted
• Implemented an Internet based sales system providing online exposure of long tail product items increasing total product sales by over 10% the first year.
• Created the brand strategy for the combination of two companies in different market segments with similar sales channels
• Developed the strategic plan, customer pitch and website for an Asia-focused logistics and packaging company, enabling the client to better serve its mega-retailer customer and earn more of its customer’s business
• Revamped a client’s merchandising strategy, improving shopability, brand and on-shelf impact. Strengthened the client’s related environmental/“green” positioning

Sales

• Developed and presented an industry-specific millennial customer segment marketing strategy for distributor partners of high-end lighting and fan company manufacturer. Training program and presentation improved customer practices and improved relationships with distributors
• Created and implementing a repeatable process for collecting testimonials and developing case studies for B2B manufacturer. Process resulted in improved customer relations with top customers and provided sales team with relevant and updated sales tools
• Redesigned the distributor pricing model for a company in the irrigation industry
• Consolidated operations in a consumer products company and redirected its sales effort to retail, increasing sales 50% in that channel of distribution
• Completed the implementation of a manufacturing representative system creating sales representation for a plumbing and irrigation products company throughout North America
• Implemented a full sales dashboard reporting on sales trends, customer profitability, portfolio profitability and sales group performance
• Created a long term sales strategy for two separate channels of distribution that often dealt with the same customer base
• Created and implemented a single pricing strategy for two companies that were acquired and integrated
• Revamped Sales and Customer Service structure to better serve targeted markets and reduce costs. Re-set Sales compensation program to align with company capabilities and strategy, whereas former scheme put Sales emphasis at odds with company’s manufacturing and sourcing capabilities
• Developed the first, comprehensive and formal account planning process for a chemicals compounder, tying related account plans into business’ annual financial plan and establishing related customer sales accountabilities. In parallel, established an effective account strategy process tied to company strategy and goals

Performance Management

• Implemented a performance management system as a business strategy for a publicly traded company, utilizing the approach as outlined in our article: Performance Management As A Business Strateg
• Organizational review for a multi-plant bakery and summary performance reviews of each plant and their operations
• Implemented performance management systems in the following industries Software, hi-tech, CPA, Insurance, Franchises, Asset Management
• Coaching senior executives on how to successfully navigate significant growth and organizational development

Surveys

• Implemented a company wide survey as part of the process for integrating two companies, resulting in the basis for developing a plan to deal with divergent cultures
• Implemented a survey of a marketing and sales organization to understand the the Voice of the Customer for a medical device company
• Surveyed employees from 9 countries for a client to facilitate understanding of employee mindset, cultural traits and management effectiveness
• Developed a fully automated 360° evaluation tool

Learning Maps

• Developed learning maps for the supply chain members of the US Postal Service with a focus on the required skills to be a career professional, manager and senior executive. See article for more information on the utilization of learning maps to grow your future leaders, click here
• Created and implemented a training and development program for a supply chain organization in a medical device company. The program included professional and leadership development programs as well as job progression plans for various functional positions
• Created customized supervisory training program that was incorporated into round-the-clock manufacturing environment, avoiding over a half-million dollars in purchases from established vendors

Offshore Manufacturing

• Designed and implemented a new facility to produce components for housewares products in Malaysia
• Moved operations from the US to a Mexican Shelter company saving over $1.0M
• Directed a multi-site manufacturing transfer program, moving $170M/year of manufacturing volume from a consumer products U.S. facility to Mexican and Chinese operations – $24M project with estimated savings of $10M/year – completed on time and 7% under budget.

Onshoring – Nearshoring

• Identified Mexico based suppliers for an automotive parts manufacturer. Developed RFP’s, led the RFQ process and validated supplier capabilities for over $4M in annual spend
• Identified Mexico based suppliers for a manufacturer of aluminum ladders and step stools
• Created a database of over 1,100 suppliers from Mexico

Strategy

• Developed content for Blockchain and IoT learning modules and workshops for a large technology association
• Architected cloud migration and data center roadmap and executed program for a Fortune 20 Telco. Resulted in 61% reduction in applications, 43% reduction in IT data centers, 380% increase in server virtualization and 33% reduction in hardware/software expense
• Redesigned end-to-end infrastructure acquisition process reducing process time by 53% with Lean Six Sigma methodologies
• Developed roadmap and playbook for onboarding Fortune 500 clients onto public and private cloud services for a US-based cloud provider
• Designed and implemented the Digital Transformation Journey for a leading manufacturing and packaging solutions company with 65+ locations globally. Provided end-to-end services including branding, collaboration across divisions, SBU’s, centralized data warehouse and analytics solution, data center consolidation and migration, application migrations from legacy systems, IP management, streamlining pricing & service catalog, RFP/RFI, purchase order to invoice processing.Reduced database failover time by 300%, protecting the corporation from a $60M annual regulatory, performance penalty exposure with new data replication design
• Transformed legacy document management system with advanced capabilities for scanning, versioning, collaboration, workflow solution, role based access permissions, viewing, change tracking. Enabled mobile access via handheld devices. Transformation resulted in a 51.4% reduction in opex from $3.5MM down to $1.7MM per year.Recruited and established offshore development and operations team in just three months for a business unit of a Fortune 20 company achieving an annual savings of $1.5M
• Executed an end-to-end IT transformation for a leading fund management, finance and administration company with 135 locations across the globe. Project scope included desktop migration, datacenter migration, network migration, WAN migration and implementation of ISO 27001. Migrated email solution to Office 365 and consolidated office licenses. This complete program delivered a cost savings of ~$4.73 million over 2 years .Program managed Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence initiative for a Fortune 100 company designed to increase marketing effectiveness, supply chain efficiency and improve multi-fold promotional campaigns. The company realized over 200% overall gain in process efficiency resulting in higher business profitability