Quick Wins and an Efficiency Road Map
By sourcing the highest quality products from coffee farmers and nut producers across South America, Indonesia, Africa, and beyond, Michigan’s leading coffee roaster successfully positioned itself as a top regional provider within the gourmet coffee and nut industry. As the company’s portfolio increased, so did the need for advanced processing and distribution capabilities. To facilitate this need, the company worked collaboratively with Lean Resources to design efficiency into their packaging process, followed by staff training and updates to their plant layout and sales and operational planning.
Project Scope
The project was characterized by a swift identification of opportunities to enhance operational throughput, emphasizing speed to maximize efficiency gains. A focal point was the development of in-house resources’ LEAN knowledge and capabilities, ensuring that the team was well-equipped to sustain continuous improvement. In parallel, there was a concerted effort to identify and implement cost-reduction opportunities, underpinning the financial health of the operation.
Collaboration was key; the project involved quickly mobilizing and integrating with the management team to foster trust and confidence, positioning ourselves as the catalyst for change. To support these efforts, Lean Resources established robust tools and processes that provided the capability to monitor, measure, report, and enhance their operations based on reliable data, covering aspects such as costing, attainment, and productivity.
31%
Reduced
Required head count.
41%
Reduced
Packaging (manufacturing) footprint.
50%
Reduced
Cycle time.
Outcomes
- Provided Lean Design Training and Simulation
- Implemented a “Roast to Stock” and “Package to Order” model to improve roasting efficiency by 32%
- Improved State:
- Reduced required head count by 31%
- Reduced packaging (manufacturing) footprint by 41%
- Reduced cycle time by 50%; 100% increase in throughput
- Matched scoops to package volumes (for nuts and confectionary items) reducing the time it takes to fill a package from 9 seconds to 3 seconds with a 300% increase in output
Facility Layout
- Baseline: 1 material handler Forklift / Pallet was traveling 18 miles per day or 4368 annually due to a hot potato environment which routinely demanded 1-way trips and partially filled or empty pallets.
Improved State
- Designed a purpose-built footprint utilizing perimeter isles and clear lines of sight to improve communication and replenishment.
- Implanting drop zones and home zones to allow for improved access and materials replenishment.
- Established a straight line of sight flow or materials from receiving to operations.
Sales and Operational Planning
- Completed a focused improvement event to address the aging out of perishable inventory.
- Completed SKU rationalization help improve processing by showing the 9% of the SKUs (169/1775) accounted for 91% of the revenue.