From fluctuating product quality to stable processes

The company is a major successful industrial company with global production and Supply Chain. After years with a strong focus on securing market shares, the company chose to make a determined effort to ensure stable processes in the outbound Supply Chain. The goal was to improve the customer experience in the form of (even) better quality, and to increase the bottom line, e.g. by reducing the cost of claims.

The quality of the product that the factories delivered, had suffered due to the high growth and delivery requirements in the previous strategy. At the same time, the various players and partners in the logistics sector (the transport of the products) did not always understand how to handle the products properly.

The first step in the work was a thorough analysis resulting in a Business Case that showed a potential for major savings. Based on this, kaastrup|andersen and the company established a program, and prepared and executed a course of improvement. The program was based on concrete observations and addressed behaviors, instructions, manuals etc., both internally within the company, and with external partners and suppliers.

In collaboration with the many stakeholders involved in the company a number of specific action plans and specific checklists concerning product and handling were outlined. The focus was on the various risk and responsibility transitions between actors in the chain from factory to customer.

A number of working groups were set up, involving all departments across the entire Supply Chain. All deliveries were checked with the help of the checklists and the answers were documented visually (by fotos) and collected digitally to support root cause analysis and to facilitate decisions about improvement initiatives. The digital collection enabled a high degree of transparency in relation to suppliers and increased the chances of obtaining compensation for damages due to inadequate handling during transport.

In order to ensure a transparent overview, the program management and the working groups held weekly meetings to prioritize proposals for correction of improper behavior or inaccurate instructions. The meetings ensured continuous progress in improving and ensuring product quality and increasing customer satisfaction.

The ownership of the program was placed at the executive level of the company. Placing the responsibility with top management was crucial as the program required behavioral changes in large parts of the customer's organization and with external suppliers and transport partners. The Steering Committee Meetings were thus attended by representatives from the executive board, managers of functions, and the program manager from kaastrup|andersen.

The end customers confirmed the company's own measurements of the improvements achieved. The results are clear: Before the execution of the program, among half of the delivered products were defective and damaged, and today, after the successful implementation of the program, more than 95% of the deliveries today delivered error-free to the customers.

The company improved its bottom line permanently by several million DKK. The improvements are embedded in the processes, instructions and manuals, and not least in a growing awareness among staff and suppliers that behavior affects the quality and customer satisfaction.

kaastrup|andersen was in charge of the program and ensured the involvement of the top management - thus the great savings potential was fulfilled, and the customer's bottom line was significantly strengthened.