Textiles
The project for client ‘Y Plc’ was conducted over an eighteen-month period and involved working at four locations, in three discrete operating units.

The brief was to:-

  • Consolidate the Structure of the group, with a clear focus on Cost Reduction
  • Reduce the Cost of Quality through improved design, development and construction and the careful application of appropriate monitoring and control systems
  • Develop the Culture of the organisation, to better match the needs of a growing Plc.
The business units produced dyed wool and polyester yarns, dyed knitting wools and yarn dyed and piece dyed wool and polyester worsted cloth.



Structure
 The Overhead Value Analysis which was conducted, identified significant opportunities for the elimination of non-value added functions and positions, via a programme of work take out and functional consolidation. This involved the dissolution of the individual company boards and the formation of a new group executive responsible for the management of the streamlined operations.

Working with a client task force, consultants systematically reviewed all non-core activities, including Sales, Design and Development and Finance and Administration. New organisational structures were developed around new or modified working practices and were implemented progressively, leading to a cost saving of > £650,000pa.

Quality
In parallel with this exercise, new policies and working practices were being agreed, with the objective of rationalising the wide product range, focusing the sales and marketing effort.

The product approval process was revised so as to ensure that only profitable and manufacturable products made it into production and the conversion ratio of new designs to production increased. Further savings of around £ 750,000pa were achieved as a result of the implementation of these initiatives.

Culture
Bringing three separate companies together, under one management executive, was the most challenging and difficult aspect of the project. The group was itself in a state of flux, having only recently made the transition from a family business to a Plc.

The traditions of the textile industry are deep-seated and culture change takes many years to become embodied within an organisation. Our concentrated management development effort was designed to inject new thinking into the hitherto traditional attitudes to business management. As a result of the project, the foundation was established to support the growth aspirations of the Plc board and its shareholders.

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