Project Overview
Background
A leading manufacturer in the professional safety products industry faced significant challenges after relocating operations from a long-established manufacturing site to a warehouse-only model. While the organization had decades of experience producing industrial-grade products used in restaurants, hospitals, industrial facilities, and data warehouses, the shift in operating structure created disruptions that rippled across the entire value chain. The move affected not only daily workflows but also customer satisfaction, as established practices were no longer effective in the new environment.
Situation
The relocation triggered a series of operational pain points that hindered performance and growth. The business experienced:
- Customer backlogs and shipping delays that strained relationships with key accounts
- Poor site organization and major gaps in inventory accountability
- Inefficient labor utilization due to misaligned responsibilities
- Process bottlenecks across pick, pack, and ship operations
Leaders recognized that resolving these issues quickly was essential to stabilizing the business and maintaining its competitive edge. POWERS was engaged to reset operations, align teams, and build sustainable processes that could scale.
Performance Results
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Key Goals
The leadership team established clear priorities to measure the success of the engagement:
- Achieve Shipping Goals – Consistently meet or exceed daily shipping targets
- Increase Throughput – Improve picking efficiency to maximize product availability and reduce delays
- Improve On-Time Delivery (OTD) – Strengthen delivery performance, ensuring commitments were consistently met
- Boxing Department Performance – Achieve 1,000 pieces per shift across both shifts while maintaining quality standards
- Leadership and Team Management – Develop stronger leadership practices to guide warehouse teams and sustain improvements
Challenges
Several core challenges were holding back performance:
- Inventory Accuracy – Transfer errors and ineffective receiving practices created accountability issues, resulting in delays and rework.
- Unclear Roles & Responsibilities – Shared labor between business units diluted focus and slowed throughput.
- Lack of Systematic Processes – Without standardized workflows, teams relied on inconsistent practices that hindered efficiency.
Approach
POWERS deployed a structured, multi-pronged strategy that blended operational discipline with leadership development to drive measurable change.
Operational Focus & Role Alignment
- Redefined team roles, ensuring pickers were dedicated to core business orders.
- Monitored supervisor behaviors and reinforced accountability for productivity targets and hourly team performance.
Boxing Optimization
- Reengineered boxing workflows and introduced real-time productivity tracking.
- Partnered with planners to establish clear priorities, maintain daily goals, and conduct weekly reviews that drove accountability.
Leadership & Team Development
- Delivered focused coaching sessions to elevate warehouse leadership.
- Improved collaboration and communication between supervisors and managers, building a culture of alignment and ownership.
Inventory Accountability
- Conducted a comprehensive physical inventory to align on-hand stock with digital systems.
- Instituted cycle counts and enhanced receiving and picking procedures to improve accuracy and reduce errors.
Shipping & Receiving Improvements
- Appointed a dedicated supervisor to oversee receiving and ensure 100% accuracy.
- Established an advanced picking process designed to consistently support on-time delivery.
- Coordinated shipping, boxing, and planning teams to work in real-time synchronization, eliminating silos and bottlenecks.
Results
The 12-week engagement generated measurable performance improvements that had an immediate and lasting impact:
- Shipping Performance – Increased by 52% from baseline.
- On-Time Delivery (OTD) – Improved by 36% overall, with top customers seeing a 20% improvement, which directly strengthened relationships and drove higher demand.
- Boxing Department Productivity – Rose by 34%, consistently meeting daily targets while reducing rework.
- Leadership Impact – Warehouse leadership became more aligned, accountable, and proactive, enabling teams to sustain improvements beyond the initial engagement.
Conclusion
With the support of POWERS, the client successfully overcame the operational and leadership challenges tied to relocation and restructuring. By aligning roles, standardizing processes, and strengthening leadership accountability, the business regained control of its operations and restored customer confidence.
The measurable improvements achieved in just weeks positioned the organization for sustained growth. The success of this initiative also led to further engagements within the broader parent company, underscoring the proven value of the POWERS approach to operational transformation.
