How to (really) reorganise a company: case history no. 2

Training

A company that chose to put its house in order, and discovered that efficiency can be the key to competitiveness.

Case History #2

Sector: glass processing and installation for furnishing, partition walls, balustrades and industrial applications.

Turnover: €13 million.

Problems:

• late deliveries on 50% of the order book;
• inefficient production scheduling;
• staff with little autonomy;
• a disorganised warehouse, with stock records out of date;
• no precise data on real costs and production standards.

A situation many business owners know well: plenty of work but little real efficiency.

Our intervention

We started a company reorganisation lasting 18 months.

The first step was to redesign production scheduling and flows from scratch: with average delivery times of just 11 days from the order, every mistake weighed enormously.

Concrete tools and methods were introduced:

• stage schedules, to monitor production on a «pull» model: each department produces only what is needed, at the right moment and in the quantity required;
• weekly workload checks, to balance production capacity and deadlines;
• data collection at the machines, with time-and-method analysis by department, to optimise batches and lead times.

Result: late deliveries cut from 50% to 10%.

People and autonomy

An effective reorganisation is not only about processes but also about people. We introduced staff training plans, with clearly defined roles and job descriptions, standard operating procedures and shared company objectives.

The result? More autonomy, involvement and a sense of responsibility spread across every level.

Warehouse and traceability

To remove the inefficiencies in stock management, a barcode system was introduced that records goods in and out in real time. A quiet but decisive revolution: full traceability and zero errors in warehouse flows.

Cost accounting

Finally, cost accounting was introduced, calculating the hourly cost of each process (grinding, tempering, laminating and the others) rather than of the single job. Each processing stage became a profit centre, and management gained reliable data to analyse profitability and guide strategic decisions.

The final result

In less than two years the company drastically reduced delays, improved operational efficiency, increased productivity and, above all, regained control of its business.

The case is also told on our website, on the controlling page, together with the reorganisation report.