Improving Logistics
“As a result of the improvement methodologies taught to us by Mike Loughrin, our team has developed skills allowing them to become more proactive with suppliers, customers, internal employees, and management. This has produced a dramatic improvement in operational efficiency and cost control.” – George R. Hulbert, CFO
Profile
The source for wireless communications infrastructure and mobile products is Talley Communications. With products from more than 30 top manufacturers and a state-of-the-art cable assembly operation, Talley provides a complete solution for communication requirements.
Headquartered in Southern California, with six additional operations in the United States, Talley provides same day service to much of the United States and also ships worldwide.
Challenge
A new program to co-locate with a strategic supplier, growth in business volume, and the move to new facilities all contributed to overload the key supply chain processes required for order fulfillment. The warehousing and production assembly processes were not operating efficiently and were utilizing an excessive amount of overtime.
In addition, progress toward ISO 9001 certification was stalled and discussions had begun concerning postponement of an upcoming certification audit.
The entire team was frustrated. Talley challenged Mike Loughrin with guiding the team on how to improve the key processes in a manner which would leverage concepts in lean logistics to accelerate cycle time and lay the foundation for continuous process improvement.
Engagement
Mike provided educational sessions on lean concepts such as value stream mapping, performance measurements, and cycle time reduction. Kaizen blitz teams were identified in areas such as Receiving, Shipping, Production Assembly, and Planning. These teams utilized the lean concepts to design and implement improved business processes. Another key area for improvement was the organizational structure for order fulfillment where the processes and reporting relationships were not well defined.
Mike assessed the organizational structure, provided insight into appropriate best practices, and recommended improvements to strengthen the focus on meeting customer expectations.
Results
Talley’s new order fulfillment processes operate 50% faster and overtime has been reduced by 75% – all without any increase in headcount. The ISO 9001 audit was completed as originally targeted and an unconditional certification was earned. The key supply chain processes are now led by a senior executive responsible for order fulfillment.
Most importantly, the Talley team has learned the lean methodology to improve processes and is utilizing performance measurements to enable continuous process improvement.
The journey to world class performance has begun.
