Case Study: Process Improvement – Lack of Standardized Processes Delayed Time-to-Market

Distributor Achieved Best in Class Time-to-Market with Process Improvement

A middle market distributor specialized in acquiring school supplies and creating a variety of bundles and kits through programs such as the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). The schools then purchase and resell the bundles/kits directly to parents.

While past efforts to develop best practices had missed the mark, the distributor recognized they needed help standardizing processes and streamline operations to get their products to the market on time in a more efficient and effective manner.

Lack of standardized processes and visibility delayed time-to-market

Each school year, the distributor consistently struggled with processing new orders and products.

After a Lean analysis of the distributor’s operations, it was identified that previous attempts at process improvement shifted away from standardized processes and to the reliance of people. This resulted in a lack of visibility and accountability, created numerous hand-offs and feedback loops with incomplete information, caused missed deadlines, a week first pass yield of 9%, and an uncompetitive lead time.

Core solutions that drove standardized processes and enhanced visibility

To overcome the challenges of non-standardized processes and a lack of visibility, we analyzed each employee’s role and responsibilities to identify what KPIs supported their role to develop a baseline. Leveraging operational excellence and business process improvement, our team:

• Created a standardized time-to-market process and RACI framework
• Defined and implemented a set of KPIs by which the standardized time-to-market can be managed.
• Developed a digital workflow solution to manage the day-to-day execution, supported by robotic process automation (RPA). Therefore, also decreasing the manual need for human time spent.
• Built reporting capability using real-time performance data captured in the workflow solution to identify additional improvement opportunities.

ROI wins and sustainable process improvements

As a result of the implementation of standardized processes, a digital workflow, and measurable KPIs, the distributor:

• Achieved best in class time-to-market of six months
• Increased staff productivity by 35%, predictable workload balancing, and reduced work duplication as a result of a pull-based workflow.
• Reduced unnecessary wait times, enabled better task prioritization, and increased work utilization through work-in-process visibility.
• Eliminated guesswork and reduced management frustration with real-time status updates and KPI reporting.

The success of this engagement serves as a testament to the power of business process improvement to increase time-to-market. 

Contact us to learn how Aprio’s Operations and Supply Chain Advisory Services can help you leverage process improvement to enhance standardized processes.