Group50® Consulting in Manufacturing and Distribution

Group50 Consulting is a US based distribution and manufacturing company that specializes in significantly improving performance and profitability across a company’s supply chain. They have a team of experienced consultants with a deep understanding of manufacturing and distribution across many industries. Group50 offers a wide range of consulting services, including:

These consulting services are focused on significantly improving productivity across an entire manufacturing and distribution business. At the end of this article is a list of case studies that outline some of the results from working with over 200 companies and helping them realize over $300M in improved performance.

What is Manufacturing and Distribution?

In its simplest form, manufacturing is the process of taking raw materials and inputs from suppliers and adding value to them to create a new product or service. Distribution is the process of delivering those products and services. Group50 Consulting views these combined activities as the definition of a supply chain. Group50’s CEO, Jim Gitney, in his book Strategy Realized – The Business Hierarchy of Needs^®, offers the following:

Every business has a supply chain. A supply chain is defined as the accumulation of things upon which the company adds value, sells products and/or services to its customers, and manages the customer experience until the end of life of the product.

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This definition is important because your effectiveness in managing your supply chain is what differentiates you from your competitors and allows you to grow and sustain your business. If your business is not in manufacturing or distribution, you might think that you do not have a supply chain. Every business has one as shown in the following examples:

The above chart implies that every business can improve its performance by utilizing supply chain best practices. Group50’s consultants use processes and procedures that can optimize any company’s supply chain and improve its top and bottom-line performance.

The following are some of the highlights of Group50’s approach.

Strategic Planning

Group50 works with clients to develop and implement strategic plans that align with their Most Important Goal. Their strategic planning process includes the following steps:

1. Assessment: Group50 consultants work with clients to assess their current business situation, including their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats throughout the business. They have developed detailed manufacturing and distribution assessments that focus on the company’s supply chain, manufacturing capabilities and distribution approach.
2. Strategy Formulation: Based on the assessment, and the company’s Most Important Goal, Group50 consultants help clients to formulate strategies and tactics that will address operating gaps (those things they don’t currently do well) and strategic gaps (those things they need to do in the future to realize their Most Important Goal) that exist inside the company. They then work with the client to create a multi-year roadmap that is agreed upon via an implementation workshop that allows the senior leadership team to align with a detailed strategy implementation plan.
3. Strategy Implementation: Group50 consultants work with clients to implement their strategic plans. This may involve developing new products or services, expanding into new markets, improving their operations, process reengineering, and in many cases, redesigning the company’s manufacturing and distribution footprint. Group50 uses the Business Hierarchy of Needs^®, its change management framework to assure that implementation is fully thought through.

In all manufacturing and distribution strategic planning projects, Group50 consultants focus their efforts in working with clients to ensure that their plans are fully aligned with the company’s strategic objectives, using a methodology called “Where to Play” and “How to Win”.

Operations Improvement

Operations encompasses manufacturing, distribution, and all supporting functions. Group50 helps clients to improve their operations by identifying and eliminating waste and inefficiencies across the entire business. Their manufacturing and distribution consultants are specialists in the use of Lean Six Sigma principles and Continuous Improvement. The company’s operations improvement services include:

• Process mapping: Group50 consultants work with clients to map out their business processes using Value Stream Mapping as their core tool. This helps to identify areas where there is waste or inefficiency. Group50 consultants have led dozens of process mapping projects in companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 50 with a specific expertise in doing “Quote to Cash” and technology value stream mapping projects.
• Lean manufacturing: Lean manufacturing is a systematic approach to eliminating waste and improving efficiency. Group50 helps clients design and implement Continuous Improvement programs to implement lean manufacturing principles and practices.
• Six Sigma: Group50 helps clients to implement Six Sigma, a methodology for process improvement. Six Sigma focuses on reducing variability and defects in processes. Group50 offers a series of training programs which are focused on delivering                           Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement skills to project teams just in time which maximizes effectiveness and skills retention.

Supply Chain Optimization

Group50 helps clients optimize their supply chains by improving the flow of goods and materials across the entire supply chain. The company’s supply chain optimization services include:

• Network design: Group50 helps clients to optimize their supply networks, including the location of their manufacturing plants, warehouses, and distribution centers.
• Inventory management: Optimized inventory levels help reduce costs and improve customer service.
• Transportation management: Optimizing transportation operations helps to reduce costs and improve delivery times.
• Vendor/Supplier Management: Suppliers play a critical role in the success of manufacturing and distribution. Group50 works with clients to design and implement vendor management programs that leverage the full capabilities of their vendors.
• Purchasing: Choosing a supplier whose business strategies are aligned with and support yours requires careful consideration and Group50 consultants have fully defined processes for making the right decisions.
• Technology: Everything done in a business is impacted by technology. Group50 consultants work with clients to leverage existing technologies and implement new ones when appropriate.

Organizational Development

Organizational structure and the teams and individuals in them are the bridge between strategy and results. Group50 works with clients to properly design the right organization structure and develop it and the skills sets required to evolve as required by the future state requirements of the company. They work with clients to create and implement the following:

• Organizational Design – Structure
• Performance management systems: Cascading objectives, continuous feedback, accountability and supporting technologies.
• Learning Maps that support the current and future skills requirements of the organization
• Skills Development: training programs that deliver required skills just in time
• Succession Planning
• Compensation studies
• Change management programs: Change management is a critical activity in every business. Group50 insures that all projects have a change management component.

Digital Transformation

Group50 works with clients to define how a digital transformation can impact the company. Digital transformation has many meanings and Group50 defines it as “reinventing the business model with technology”. While some companies embark on a full digital transformation, most companies benefit from leveraging existing technologies and adopting new digital technologies to improve their performance and profitability. The company’s digital transformation services include:

• Digital Transformation Assessment: In this assessment, Group50 consultants work with the client to define the optimal business model for the company and develop digital strategies to implement that model.
• Technology Assessment: Companies need to understand the current state of their technology backbone prior to embarking on a digital transformation. Group50’s technology assessment provides a full technology inventory and quickly identifies areas for improvement and cost reduction.

Group50 works with clients to source and implement:

• Enterprise resource planning (ERP):  ERP systems integrate all the core business processes, such as manufacturing, accounting, and customer relationship management (CRM).
• Manufacturing execution systems (MES): MES systems track and control the manufacturing process.
• Warehouse management systems (WMS): WMS systems track and manage the flow of goods in warehouses.
• Visual management systems focused on the appropriate KPI’s across the entire business including the shop floor.
• Digital transformation business strategy

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How Group50 Consults in Manufacturing and Distribution by Key Area

Group50 consultants have expertise in all aspects of manufacturing and distribution. The following sections describe how Group50 consults in some of the key areas of manufacturing:

Production Planning and Scheduling

Group50 helps clients to develop and implement production planning systems and approaches also known as SI&OP. This includes forecasting demand, scheduling production, and managing inventory.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Quality Assurance encompasses the policies and procedures inside a company for mitigating risk, while Quality Control encompasses the processes utilized to measure performance against expectations. Group50 helps clients to develop and implement these quality systems and procedures. This includes developing quality standards, inspecting products, and identifying and correcting quality problems. Group50 consultants utilizes Six Sigma tools in developing quality control processes.

Maintenance and Reliability

Group50 helps clients to develop and implement maintenance and reliability programs. This includes preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, and corrective maintenance. Group50 consultants can also help clients to improve their spare parts management and inventory control.

Process Reengineering

Group50 helps clients to design and improve their manufacturing and business processes. This includes developing process flow diagrams, identifying waste and inefficiencies, and implementing lean manufacturing principles and practices. Group50 consultants can also help clients to select and implement new manufacturing technologies, redesign plant layouts, optimize work cells and improve material handling systems. They are experts in redesigning business processes that leverage core technologies and systems.

Manufacturing Systems

Group50 helps clients to select and implement manufacturing systems, such as ERP, MES, and WMS systems. Group50 consultants can also help clients to integrate their manufacturing systems with other business systems, such as CRM and financial systems.

Manufacturing Facilities

Reducing cost and optimizing the supply chain often require consolidations and relocations of manufacturing facilities. This is occurring more often as companies are attempting to de-risk their supply chains with an agile manufacturing strategy. Group50 consultants can redesign factories with a focus on automation and cobotics and are especially good at optimizing material handling and productivity.

Distribution Facilities

As products and market demands change, distribution facilities need to change as well. Distribution processes have been required to change dramatically as the requirements of their customers are becoming more complex. Group50 consultants are specialists in developing distribution centers that are optimized for inventory, material movement, picking and packing and servicing B2B, retail.com and DTC distribution models.

Restructuring

Some companies require a full restructuring of their supply chain footprint because of significant changes in their business models. This is usually a result of a Merger of two companies, a significant change in the competitive landscape or the need to consolidate facilities to reduce cost. Group50 consultants have restructured dozens of supply chain footprints and have done over 30 integrations.

Case Studies

Group50 has worked with a wide range of manufacturing and distribution companies, including Fortune 500 companies and small businesses. The following are a few case studies that illustrate how Group50 has helped its clients to improve their performance:

• Application of the Business Hierarchy of Needs® to Strategic Planning: The strategic plan developed for a $250M consumer products company was based on a Most Important Goal of doubling enterprise value over a 5 year period. The digital transformation strategy expected to yield $120M in increased enterprise value over the strategic planning horizon.
• Manufacturing – Process Value Stream Mapping: This project for a multinational consumer products company identified $4.9M in annual cost savings across its 11 manufacturing areas.
• Supply Chain Strategy: Group50 was asked to do a market research study on how to a $650M multinational company could use its supply chain as a competitive advantage. The study identified a need for new business and supply chain strategies and uncovered a large growth opportunity in a down market
• Sales, Inventory and Operational Planning: A $400M consumer products company was experiencing excessive lead times, inventory and service levels. Group50 did a full “quote to cash” analysis and identified process improvements that yielded annual cost savings of $2.5M, reduced working capital of $15M and reduced lead times of 30%.
• Digital Transformation: In this digital transformation case study, a $300M per year CPG company realized &6M in annual savings, $15M in cost avoidance, $2M reduction in working capital and a 900% ROI
• IoT and Blockchain – An Application Case Study – Flight Safety Parts: IoT (Internet of Things) and Blockchain can play a critical role in the management of complex supply chains where chain of custody are important parts of a product’s lifecycle.
• Restructuring a Large Manufacturing and Distribution Operation: Group50 consultants have restructured manufacturing and distribution businesses of all sizes. In this case study, plant output tripled, products were redesigned, and the P&L improved 15% year over year.

When it comes to manufacturing and distribution, Group50 Consulting has the experience and resources to optimize results across the entire supply chain footprint. Because of their expertise, Group50 Consulting can manage and deliver large complex projects, as well as small ones without the need for additional consulting organizations. Call them for a free no obligation discussion on what is best for you.

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