Is your organisation leveraging best practice across its manufacturing units through collaboration and knowledge management?

Would you like to learn and share with a peer group organisation currently developing generic and specific ‘Networks of Excellence’ to improve manufacturing performance?

One of our clients, a globally recognised company with brands sold in nearly every country in the world, employing over 55,000 people and receiving revenues in excess of $20bn, would like to Xchange ideas, experiences and best practices with central or regional Supply Chain teams responsible for Improvement, Best Practice, Quality, Knowledge Management or Change within disparate manufacturing environments using the concepts of networking, collaboration and communities to improve performance.

The Global Supply Best Practice Implementation Director is currently responsible for helping the manufacturing functions to improve performance and align local goals with corporate goals through inter and intra plant networking activities.His team have aligned these activities with a global TQM initiative, based upon the ‘20 Keys’ system, focusing effort around Quality, Cost, Delivery, Safety & Motivation.

The best practice team have begun to bring a number of manufacturing focus groups together around the world and are reviewing the results to expand and develop further ‘communities of practice’ based upon generic and specific areas of interest and alignment for successful sharing and knowledge management.

The three key areas of this approach are centred around:

1. Encouraging Collaboration by initially selling the concept and the benefits, then concentrating on breaking down organisational and professional barriers to change behaviour around sharing best practice across the group.

2. Implementing a support Process for instigating and participating managers to understand what to expect and what needs to be in place to drive a discussion / meeting across the organisation.

3. Leveraging Technology, although a dedicated tool/service is considered to be important going forward, at the moment existing technology i.e. telephone, email and databases will suffice due to the current nature of communications within each manufacturing plant. Future potential exists in leveraging the corporate portal and a global manufacturing system.

Our client is keen to share their experiences and learn from the approach of others who have a similar focus within large / disparate /multi-lingual manufacturing environments who have experience in one or more of the following.

• Developing a community (-ies) of practice within manufacturing
• Performance Improvement through collaboration· Networking process management
• Best Practice and Knowledge management within Manufacturing

In return for sharing your experience and approach our client is willing to Xchange key insights into the following initiatives:

1. Sales and Operations Process

2. Process for identifying and quantifying manufacturing internal best practices to reduce costs

3. The process of re-engineering consumer products to reduce costs

4. Global Factory network design methodology

5. Application of Value Based Management in Supply Chain

If you have the relevant experience and would like to help and learn with our client then let us know and we will introduce you!

Non-competing industries include; FMCG, CPG, Cosmetics Chemical, Construction Oil & Gas, Industrial or Automotive.

Xchasm are currently promoting this opportunity to peer group organisations and setting up introductory conference calls to identify mutual opportunities for you and our client to pursue. If you would like more information about this opportunity please let us know via the links below.