Outcomes
The results were transformational. On-time delivery improved from 14% to 95% against customer promise. Inventory was reduced by over 45% through better demand management and production prioritisation. Factory revenues recovered by over 80% as a result of effective demand management and increased productivity. The workforce — previously demoralised and disengaged — emerged from the programme with a clear sense of purpose and ownership. The site went on to win a Group award for excellence and is now widely used to showcase manufacturing capability to customers and other divisions across the organisation.
Background
On-time delivery stood at just 14% against customer orders — a figure that had severely damaged the site’s relationships and reputation. Inventories were high but poorly managed, with materials frequently unavailable for the jobs that needed them most. There was no performance management system in place, no cross-functional planning process, and the Planning and Production functions operated in isolation from one another — a disconnection that drove late delivery and inflated costs in equal measure.
The management team lacked the capability and tools to drive improvement, and the workforce had become demoralised by years of dysfunction. The site faced a stark choice: transform or face an uncertain future.
Curzon Approach
Curzon’s approach was comprehensive and hands-on — working directly alongside the management team rather than from the outside, and involving the full leadership group in designing and owning the transformation from the outset.
A cross-functional planning process was implemented to create, for the first time, a coherent and shared view of demand, delivery priorities, and the factory’s real capacity to deliver against them. With that foundation in place, Curzon worked alongside management to establish control across Production, Purchasing, Planning, and Inventory Management — four functions that had previously operated without adequate coordination or accountability.
Lean capabilities were introduced on the shop floor, improving productivity while simultaneously building a culture of ownership among the workforce. Commercial management was strengthened to ensure revenues were being effectively captured and operational costs actively managed. Capital investment in facilities — already sanctioned — was aligned with the operational reorganisation to maximise its impact.
The transformation was designed to be owned by the site’s own people, not sustained by external support — and the results reflected that: a workforce that understood what was required of them, a management team with the tools and disciplines to maintain performance, and a site that had moved from an organisational liability to one of the group’s flagship operations.
