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Operational Assessment/ Performance Services

Viewing posts tagged Operational Assessment/ Performance Services

25 Jan 2020

Manufacturing Footprint Optimization: Global Expansion (ASEAN)

By Arthur Elliott

Background

Global firm needed to increase China/Asia manufacturing capacity. EWA was engaged to develop and implement an Asian Manufacturing Footprint Strategy to drive long-term profitability.

Approach

Step 1: Identifying the expansion criteria
  • Company analysis
    • Expansion criteria: labor supply/costs, government incentives, inflation rates, availability of raw materials, transport & export logistics, supply chain vendor availability
Step 2: An in-depth comparative analysis of 6 selected countries
  • Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand & China
    • Expansion recommendation: Thailand
Step 3: On the ground interaction
  • Negotiated conditions for property purchase & property management (waste removal, perimeter security, etc.)
  • Negotiated investment incentives with Secretary General of Royal Thailand Board of Investment
  • Qualified local Thai vendors to support the company’s manufacturing location
  • Met with local legal and accounting firms to identify the necessary criteria for establishing a business entity
Step 4: Hands-on implementation
  • Property was purchased and all pre-construction permits/licenses/registrations were acquired by October 2017
  • Plant designs, construction budget/timeline & all construction partner contracts were finalized in November 2017
  • Plant construction and equipment installation began in January 2018 and was completed in April 2019
  • Identification and recruitment of supply chain, distribution & logistics partners was completed in February/March 2019

Results

  • Government Incentives
    • 8 year tax holiday from CIT, 50% tax reduction for an additional 5 years
  • Cost Reduction †
    • $22.0M tax savings over 10 years
    • $4.3M annual labor savings after 5 years
    • $1.8M annual material savings after 5 years
    • $120/unit average freight savings
  • Company Growth †
    • 42% increase in sales over 5 years
    • 53% increase in revenue over 5 years

† Company Forecast

25 Jan 2020

Manufacturing Footprint Optimization: Plant Closure

By Arthur Elliott

Background

  • As part of a global restructuring of business units, a multinational chemical company was closing one of their Chinese production facilities.
  • EWA engaged as Project Leader with responsibility for closure implementation.

Approach

Six months prior to plant closure
  • Closure strategy (budget, timing, expenditures, government relations, etc.)
  • Defined implementation team (Operations, HR, Legal, Security, IT, etc.)
  • Development of communication plans (staff, government, external, etc.)
  • Security risk assessment (employee unrest, physical & IP assets theft, etc.)
Three months prior to plant closure
  • Implementation of operational and protective security measures
  • Finalized equipment & inventory disposition, decommissioning plant, etc.
  • External stakeholder negotiations (governmental agencies, landlord, etc.)
  • Obtain approvals from business zone, governmental authorities, etc.
  • Identification of compliance and payment issues, severance packages
Upon plant closure and after
  • Finalization of equipment disposition and plant demobilization
  • Filing government documentation in keeping with the registration, business license, board resolutions
  • Filing of all necessary financials, bank accounts, tax, VAT rebates, registered capital and customs documentation
  • Competition of all de-registration and governmental documentation and plant turnover to the landlord

Results

  • No theft of IP assets, physical violence or governmental authority repercussions
  • 100% of employees signed employment forms
25 Jan 2020

Manufacturing Footprint Optimization: Site Selection

By Arthur Elliott

Background

  • German-owned chemical company with an ageing facility was being pressured by local authorities to relocate to an “official” chemical processing zone, as part of the Chinese government’s initiative to combat industrial pollution
  • EWA was engaged to conduct a comprehensive site selection process and provide the client with quantified site recommendations

Approach

Step 1: Create functional definition of plant
  • Purpose for expansion, customers, supply chain, products, capital equipment, etc.
  • Definition of the site requirements & specifications:
  • Size of plant, land requirements, structural requirements, utilities and consumption, logistics, labor force requirements, ground compaction, water table, number of employees, manufacturing space, office space, employee facilities, etc.
Step 2: Analysis of company performance influencers
  • Logistics, location of customer base, location of suppliers, location of business partners, freight & transportation costs, current property costs, current operational costs, government incentives, etc.
Step 3: On the ground interaction
  • Identification of 7 business/chemical parks for further exploration based upon site & company criteria
  • Personal site visits, face-to-face negotiations, meetings with other companies located in the individual business parks & interaction with local government officials
  • Tours with company executives
  • Negotiations and confirmations of land price and tax incentives
  • Analysis of the impact on startup and operational costs
Step 4: Recommendation of the 3 quantified location options with full analysis

Results

  • Significant tax and land incentives were attained by EWA negotiations
  • Client approved EWA recommendation and final negotiations are currently in process.
  • Client has engaged EWA in the role of “Owners Representative” for follow-on activities including coordinating design and overseeing construction
25 Jan 2020

Performance Improvement: Growth Development

By Arthur Elliott

Background

A manufacturer of returnable packaging materials for the automotive industry with stagnating sales engaged EWA to identify and qualify sources of business growth potential.

Approach

Step 1: 360° Opportunity Assessment
  • An extensive review with the client of the construction and technical aspects of the current product portfolio, the market, adjacent verticals, competitor products & customer base.
Step 2: Opportunity Identification
  • Identification and validation of 12 key industries as qualified verticals for expansion – based upon ease of adaptation, market size, growth potential and profit margin
  • Total of 1300+ potential new customers
Step 3: Short-listing of 5 core industries of focus for a deep dive analysis
  • Off Road Vehicles, HVAC, Outdoor Power Equipment, Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Electronics
  • Total of 370 potential new customers
Step 4: Opportunity Leveraging
  • EWA prioritized the top 10-12 companies per sector (sales channels, geographical location, etc.)
  • EWA conducted an in-depth investigation of each company & senior management and then delivered a biographical summary and contact information for 63 companies

Results

  • The client signed contracts with 9 new business partners
  • 13% increase in sales within 18 months
25 Jan 2020

HR & Executive Recruitment: Interim General Manager & Recruitment of a Permanent General Manager

By Arthur Elliott

Background

  • A metal fabrication WOFE located in Changzhou with a US parent was faced with a situation involving an ineffective General Manager
  • EWA was engaged to:
    • Recruit and supervise an Interim General Manager
    • Identify, qualify and recruit a permanent General Manager

Approach

Step 1: Recruitment & Supervision of an Interim General Manager
  • Preparation & alignment
  • Selection
  • On-boarding & engagement management
Step 2: General Manager Candidate Criteria, Development & Assessment
  • Hard & soft skills definition
  • Individual interviews
  • Selection of 3 top candidates
Step 3: General Manager Candidate Due Diligence
  • Determination of scope
  • Desk-top audit & field research
  • Forensic review
  • Legal issues
Step 4: General Manager Candidate Final Report
  • Analysis, recommendation & rationale

Results

  • Successful search to find a General Manager fitting a specific set of client requirements:
    • Integrity
    • Employee relations
    • Financial
    • Operational skills
  • Six-week search resulted in:
    • 3 highly qualified referrals
    • 1 individual was hired
  • Three months after the new GM reported to work:
    • Plant productivity increased from less than 55% to over 85% and rising
    • Staff productivity increased 15% in the same time frame
    • Customer complaints reduced to less than 1 per month (vs. 7+ over the previous 12 months)
25 Jan 2020

Risk Management: Competitor Espionage

By Arthur Elliott

Background

A manufacturer of automotive components who had a dominate position in the market was concerned about loss of corporate assets to local competitors. The task was to review and assess company internal prevention processes & procedures, identify areas of weakness and to develop improvements to company security and asset protection programs.

Approach

Step 1: Definition of 4 core areas of investigation
  • Physical Security – offices, factories, physical access control, guard force effectiveness, etc.
  • HR Issues – clear expectations, recruiting due diligence, proper access control, leadership/”tone at the top”
  • IT Systems, laptops, and mobile devices
  • Security policies and procedures, control & monitoring
Step 2: Conducted a 2 month audit of internal processes & procedures
Step 3: Recommendations for corrective action with a particular focus upon Physical Security and Control & Monitoring
Step 4: Implementation of numerous corrective programs including
  • CCTV, IT server access control, intrusion detection, firewall and anti-spyware, vetting of vendors, visitor security, access control, data storage & disposal procedures

Results

  • No new acts of corporate espionage or theft
25 Jan 2020

Risk Management: Investigation and Correction of Employee Trade Secrets Theft

By Arthur Elliott

Background

  • A manufacturer of specialty chemicals had lost 70% of company customer base due to TS theft
  • The previous Operations Director in China had removed electronic drawings and other IP over a 2-year period, set up a competing company and bribed the purchasing managers to move their purchases to his new company.
  • EWA was engaged to investigate the claim and develop counter-actions

Approach

Step 1: Risk Identification
  • Investigation and confirmation of the existence of the new company and the individual’s equity ownership
  • EWA obtained product samples and verified a trademark violation
Step 2: Risk Mitigation
  • Recruitment of local Chinese attorneys and the filing of a legal claim against both the company and the individual
  • The competitive office, workforce, sub-contractors and customer base visitors were investigated
  • EWA contacted the client’s original customer base to inform them of the various illegal actions and acts of corporate espionage
  • Legal proceedings cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality restrictions
Step 3: Long-Term Risk Prevention
  • Development of a comprehensive asset protection program

Results

  • 75% of the lost customer base returned to the client within 7 months
  • No new acts of corporate espionage or theft
25 Jan 2020

Risk Management: Joint Venture 360° Asset Protection Training

By Arthur Elliott

Background

A US Chemical company was negotiating a major joint venture with a local Chinese business partner and very concerned that asset theft could compromise sensitive merger negotiations.

Approach

  • Development and implementation of a comprehensive training program outlining the various aspects of domestic, foreign and state sponsored industrial espionage.
  • The training provided in-depth explanation of the following methods of corporate industrial espionage:
    • Office – physical and IT areas of exposure
    • Traveler’s computer/laptop/mobile device security
    • Areas of exposure – immigration, hotels, meeting rooms, etc.
    • Techniques imploded – Blackmail, Elicitation, Indigenous recruiting, Listening devices
    • Technical surveillance operations
  • Specific mitigation actions and tactics divided into before, during and after visit segments were presented to in-country staff and executive travelers

Results

The joint venture negotiations team implemented asset theft prevention measures and the negotiations proceeded without complications

25 Jan 2020

Strategic Business Planning: Brand Development

By Arthur Elliott

Background

A US manufacturer of large construction components for the Chinese market was interested in exploring the growing portable construction products industry. EWA was engaged to develop a strategic vision & implementation action plan to drive company growth.

Approach

Step 1: Comprehensive growth potential assessment
  • Market
  • Industry
  • Competitors
  • Customer base
  • Product offers
  • Technical requirements
  • Etc.
Step 2: Analysis to determine
  • The most profitable product segments
  • The strengths and weaknesses of the players in the end-product competitive environment
  • The end customer purchase behavior and decision-making influencers
  • The customer perceptions with regards to brands, products, service, post-sales support, distribution, sales channels, etc.
    • Finding: Significant growth potential…but various market specifics could present severe challenges to a successful company internal production approach
Step 3: Recommendation to produce end-products in cooperation with a local non-industry Chinese assembly company
  • Identification and qualification of a suitable Chinese assembly company
  • R&D briefing and consultation during product development
Step 4: Recommendation to conduct a test market in several key regions
  • Identification and qualification of distribution partner for test market launch

Results

  • After the successful completion of the test market, the client launched nationwide
  • 6% increase in company revenue within the first 24 months