Situation
In an effort to provide flawless quality and service to its customers, Woodway USA, Inc. recognized it needed to make improvements in inventory visibility and supply chain processes.
Even though Woodway has a robust ERP system, it couldn’t trust the integrity of its inventory data. This led to complications and miscommunication throughout the production cycle.
Team leaders wanted to spend less time reacting and more time making proactive process improvements.
Knowing this was a complex issue with multiple pain points, Woodway leaders enlisted Wipfli to conduct a preliminary assessment. They saw this initial assessment as a cost-effective way to identify opportunity and focus their efforts for the highest ROI.
Strategy and results
Wipfli’s performance specialists conducted a tour of Woodway’s plant and held in-depth interviews with four key process leaders.
They discovered there wasn’t a consistent process for tracking sales and collaboratively adjusting supply plans.
This disconnect between sales and operations meant Woodway carried excess inventory in order to stay responsive to customer demand. Large supply orders took up costly warehouse space, increased the risk of inventory obsolescence and tied up cash that could have been used elsewhere in the business.
After this assessment was complete, the Wipfli team helped Woodway develop an implementation roadmap with recommendations and next steps.
Plans include a feasibility-impact analysis to identify low-complexity, high-impact projects that should be prioritized. A multi-phase plan maps out which projects can be tackled concurrently and where early wins will provide valuable momentum.
Client profile
With design and manufacturing facilities in the United States, Germany and Japan, Woodway USA, Inc. is the largest specialized treadmill manufacturer in the world.
