Improving planning continuity and efficiency

Challenge

The team responsible for planning all subcontractor-related products, was faced with a temporary resource gap. Due to the complexity of the flows, and the growing workload, the Belgian-based, multinational food company asked Chronion to temporarily fulfill the planner position during a “double” maternity leave.

Solution

Our initial priority in these temporary assignments is always to ensure the operations continuity.

Once this is established, we are in a perfect position to spot and implement improvement opportunities to improve supply chain efficiency in the long-term. In this case, that included improving the planning processes by uniformization and automatization, creating transparency on lead times and improving co-manufacturer relationships.

Finally, once someone internally filled in the position, we trained the new planner including process documentation.

Results

By providing operational ad interim support and going the extra mile, we ensured operational continuity and standardization while improving the efficiency of the planning process by 15%, equivalent to five hours per week. In addition, we supported the successful go‑live of a new SAP flow and facilitated a smooth handover, including comprehensive process documentation.