Outcomes
The programme delivered a 10–15% average improvement in On-Time, In-Full (OTIF) performance across the product range. Slow-moving and obsolete inventory was reduced by 65%, and arrears reduced by more than 55% — with some individual lines seeing improvements exceeding 55%. Fifteen key customer agreements were brought into alignment with accurate, data-backed lead times for the first time, significantly reducing contract risk. A full-scale Sales & Operations Planning process was embedded across 350+ products and 3,000+ components, underpinned by a roadmap for further systems enhancements to sustain and extend the gains.
Background
The organisation faced significant structural barriers between its Platforms function and the rest of the business — creating competing demands on a supply chain and production facility that had no reliable way to arbitrate between them. Data was stored and analysed in multiple, disconnected ways across Sales, Planning, Operations, and Inventory — with no unified analytical approach and no single source of truth that everyone could plan from.
Without a coherent view of demand against capacity, production scheduling was reactive by necessity. Delays against customer promise were long and frequent, inventory was poorly controlled, and the business had no mechanism for making informed, forward-looking decisions about what to make, when, and in what sequence. The absence of a proper Sales & Operations Planning process was not just an operational inconvenience — it was a strategic vulnerability in a market where delivery reliability is a key competitive differentiator.
Curzon Approach
Curzon took a data-centric approach from the outset — recognising that the fragmented analytical landscape was the root cause of most of the operational problems, and that sustainable improvement required a single, integrated planning foundation rather than another layer of process on top of existing dysfunction.
A Minimum Viable Product model was designed and implemented first — proving the approach at smaller scale before committing to full rollout. This disciplined sequencing reduced implementation risk and built the internal confidence needed to scale. The product hierarchy structure was scrutinised and rationalised to form a credible basis for S&OP planning, complemented by value chain analysis across key product lines to identify the highest-impact improvement opportunities.
All demand signals were mapped against available capacity — creating reliable utilisation plans supported by historical Demonstrated Capacity data. Inventory consumption plans were developed, integrating future buying patterns and opportunities for strategic procurement across 3,000+ components at an aggregated value of £4.7 million. Seamless S&OP review cycles were established, with detailed objectives and long-term performance measures giving the organisation the ongoing discipline to sustain the gains.
The result was a business that moved from reactive operations managed by instinct to proactive planning managed by data — with the visibility, controls, and processes needed to serve its customers reliably and its contracts confidently.
