75+ Process Gaps Identified— Root Cause Found Upstream
Leadership suspected Order-to-Cash issues. Our assessment revealed the real problems were upstream in Forecast-to-Fulfill—a discovery that redirected improvement efforts toward root causes rather than symptoms.
Result at a glance
"We're like two different companies instead of one, and we're not working together."
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The Situation
This specialty food ingredients manufacturer serves 120+ countries from dual production facilities. Despite adding a second facility to increase capacity, lead times had increased from 35 to 45-80+ business days. The facilities were operating as "two different companies" with separate processes, creating friction that manifested as invoicing errors and collection delays.
What We Found
Through intensive two-day onsite workshops with cross-functional teams, we documented the real operational picture:
28 Pain Points
Operational challenges from minor to critical
26 Workarounds
Manual processes compensating for system gaps
21 Integration Gaps
Handoff breakdowns requiring intervention
Critical gaps included:
- Production planning managed through 20+ Excel worksheets outside ERP—single point of failure
- 100% manual order entry creating data errors and rework
- No demand forecasting; production entirely reactive to orders
- No CRM or EDI integration; institutional knowledge trapped in email
What We Delivered
Through intensive two-day onsite workshops with cross-functional teams, we documented the real operational picture:
Daily cross-facility coordination calls, standardized document workflows, shared production schedule visibility, and structured handoff protocols—all implementable without system changes.
S&OP framework with designated cross-facility coordinator, technology integration evaluation, organizational clarity with ownership accountability matrix, and KPI framework including On-Time-In-Full metrics.
The Outcome
The organization shifted from chasing symptoms to addressing root causes. Leadership now has a shared understanding of process interdependencies, a prioritized improvement roadmap, and the cross-functional visibility needed to operate as one unified company.
"The workshop format encouraged transparent dialogue we hadn't had before. People took ownership of action items on the spot."
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