Experience | Iskra Consulting

Strategic Analysis

Rationalised the brands and restructured the distribution network of an automotive brake components manufacturer as part of a strategy to become the lowest cost producer in Europe. Facilitated the development of strategic plans for the business units of the Portuguese subsidiary of a major oil company. Moved the business from a top down approach to one that included a large degree of bottom up input taking account of the activities of other players in the market.

Analysed the UK car parts aftermarket and leisure superstores in the UK for a Russian client wishing to replicate the model in Russia. Organised a visit to a major player and explored franchise opportunities.

Designed and delivered a benchmarking exercise for one of the five Post Office businesses, with the objective of identifying how it stood in relation to other businesses with regard to costs and services, providing an input to its future strategy

Facilitated the turnaround of the site of major pharmaceutical company in danger of closure. Implemented a large cost reduction programme whilst increasing volumes and reducing lead times preventing closure and attracting new investment from the Group

Created and ran training courses on strategy and marketing for a major player in the personal care market in Eastern Europe

Ran workshops with a European Uranium Enrichment Company and the stakeholders involved in entering the US market that brought the players together and identified the barriers that had to be overcome.

Senior member of the team restructuring the British nuclear fuels industry, leading on the future strategy and style of the engineering division

Organisational Change

Facilitated a large organisational change programme for a pharmaceutical company site that was losing money. Achieved a 25% cost reduction whilst increasing volumes and reducing lead times. Reduced headcount from 800 to 550 re-designed jobs, with a new wages structure, a team based organisation, new shift pattern, new processes and systems.

A detailed investigation of a European uranium enrichment business to stimulate it to move to towards a process of continuous improvement and learning in its organisation and cross border practices in order to gain maximum synergy from its diverse entities and activities

Facilitated a culture change in a nuclear fuel plant that was more appropriate to its new trading conditions and in the process reduced costs.

Conducted a human resources survey in a dispersed civil engineering organisation, making recommendations as to the organisational development strategies the company should follow.

Facilitated a pre-privatisation culture change programme in a region of an electrical distribution company, moving it from being budget driven to cost and profit orientation.

Introduced a culture of continuous improvement and cost reduction in the non-core business areas of a nuclear fuels reprocessing facility to achieve substantial annual savings

Process Improvement

Designed, developed and installed cell working and JIT in two plants of a transformer and PCB producer, reducing work-in-progress in one area from two months to a few days. Specified the modules required in the company’s manufacturing system.

Improved productivity in the warehouse and order intake areas of a plastic rainwater goods producer, designing and implementing a new organisation structure.

Transformed the Russian subsidiary of an international home and personal care business. Reorganised the company around its supply chains and introduced: Sales and Operational Planning, statistically based forecasting, MRP, new warehouses, a new factory layout, lean manufacturing principles and changes in culture that resulted in line efficiency improvements of 40% and lead times reduced by 30%.

Analysed the Saudi Arabian supply chain of a global cigarette company and made recommendations regarding reducing costs and the future development of distribution in the region at the same time breaking down the resistance to change

Mapped the processes of the Personnel Management System in the Russian subsidiary of an international home and personal care business enabling the development of a new organisation structure and tools to measure performance and establish resource levels.

Developed and implemented supply chain management systems and processes in a Russian packaging manufacturer so that it could compete against more expensive but higher quality imported packaging. Increased output by as much as 70% in some areas using lean practices.

Analysed the operations of a Russian supermarket chain providing a template for the re-design of its supply chain and retail outlets. The exercise was carried out when it had 36 stores but it was able to gain EBRD funding and subsequently grew to over 300 stores

Determined the scope for lean and six sigma practices in a large chemical plant in Frankfurt and developed a plan for rolling out the practices to its operations across the globe.

Implemented Sales and Operational Planning for a UK based business in its largest market, Nigeria, across four diverse businesses: personal care, home care, dairy products and consumer durables.

Designed, developed and implemented an entry level MRP and supply chain management system to a provide a platform for a Russian frozen company to put in place the necessary disciplines to allow it to move with confidence to more sophisticated ERP systems

Technology Improvement

A national infrastructure owner requested the provision of an alternative to its spare parts order and inventory management system as it was deemed no longer fit for purpose. Comparative analysis of the available products showed the current system was still the best from lifetime cost and technical and functional specification points of view. Further investigation showed that the system requirements had been poorly specified leading to inappropriate customisations and a proliferation of Excel workarounds. Poor governance, lack of a systems owner and high turnover of staff combined with poor training resulted in a negative view of the system. A more vanilla system was recommended with minimal customisations and the introduction of new best practice processes with appropriate training and improved system governance.

In post perestroika Russia many new manufacturing businesses had grown from a few people to thousands in the space of a few years. The businesses lacked both the management skills and disciplines that would be necessary for full blown MRPII and ERP systems. Simple entry level spread sheet based MRP and supply chain management systems linked to the preferred 1S accounting system were designed and developed on which clients could learn the necessary disciplines and skills. These implementations provided an inexpensive learning platform to enable clients to move with confidence to more sophisticated ERP systems.

Examination of the requirements for a new Management Information System showed that the existing system could meet the requirements. However poor file structures, poor governance and lack of organisation around workflows meant that the system was used largely as a document management system and deemed not fit for purpose. A proof of concept around one of the major workflows was proposed to demonstrate its true capabilities. Remaining with the same system provides considerable savings in licensing costs.