Outcomes
The programme delivered rapid, measurable improvements: supplier on-time, in-full (OTIF) performance increased to 85% — on a path to 95% — while demand aggregation pilots demonstrated price savings of 30%. Lead times were compressed from 150 to 117 days, with a clear roadmap to reach 50. Transactional costs were reduced by £1,250 per item, with significant further processing cost reductions identified. Critically, the business case for retaining the operation in-house was validated — reversing a previously recommended outsourcing decision.
Background
An existing supply chain improvement initiative had fallen significantly behind schedule, leaving the organisation exposed. The supply base was highly fragmented, with siloed operations and limited coordination across the network. A proliferation of suppliers had created significant cost inefficiencies, while weak controls over the SKU portfolio and poor system integrity undermined performance and visibility.
The tools and capabilities to deliver better outcomes existed within the business, but were not being effectively leveraged. Service levels were falling short of what the operation required, and the cost to serve remained unnecessarily high. With outsourcing under active consideration, the organisation needed clarity — fast — on whether the operation could be turned around.
Curzon Approach
Curzon began with a rapid but thorough diagnostic — reviewing performance data and engaging senior stakeholders internally and externally to establish a clear picture of where value was being lost. A key early output was an objective evaluation of the outsourcing question: our analysis concluded that retaining the service in-house was the stronger strategic option, directly challenging the prevailing internal recommendation.
With that decision reframed, we moved into a structured programme of performance improvement interventions. These targeted the root causes of underperformance across the supply chain: improving supplier OTIF through tighter schedule adherence and lead time compression; aggregating demand to unlock contractual price-breaks; rationalising the supplier base and renegotiating contracts; and reducing transactional volume and cost through order aggregation and automation.
We also designed a future-state operating model to lock in the gains achieved — ensuring the improvements were structural and sustainable, not just a one-off uplift.
