Two production sites in two countries, one supplying the other, had a difficult relationship and were losing ground on both price and quality. Nine months after we started working together, delivery reliability had risen from 65% to 85% and grade-A output from 20% to 80%. Six months later, with no further involvement from Axisto, they stood at 98% and 90%.
Duration: Nine months
“I was amazed how quickly a strained relationship between these two sites in my organisation turned into a productive, closely collaborative one, right down to a personal level.“- Senior Vice President
The situation
Two production sites in two countries had a full customer–supplier relationship: the production process ran through both sites, but they were under separate management. One company on paper, two in practice.
The relationship between them was difficult, and it showed in a weakening competitive position and falling market share. The cost reduction that was needed could only be achieved if the two sites worked as one. They didn’t. So the business unit manager brought in Axisto.
What was really wrong
There was no shared vision, and therefore no agreement on direction. That led to friction at the top of both sites, and filtered down into attitudes and behaviours throughout the rest of the organisation.
Without a shared goal, the systems and processes at the two sites developed separately, and day-to-day priorities weren’t aligned. Attitudes and behaviours diverged, leading to operational performance problems. When things went wrong, management responded by pushing harder on compliance with procedures. That pressure backfired: people became more stubborn and less constructive.
What we did together
A two-day quick scan, four weeks of reflection and preparation, and eight months of implementation.
Analysed the business as one business. Together with people from both organisations, we examined the cost structure of both sites as a whole, and the performance of the processes that cut across them: sales and marketing, development, production, logistics and all the support functions.
Worked out what had to change, with the people who would change it. In workshops spanning both organisations, we established where the improvement really lay. That produced specific, measurable targets, including targets that could only be met if the sites worked together.
One implementation plan, built together. In the final week of preparation, managers from both sites developed the plan together. The targets sat at the edge of what the organisation could handle at that point: ambitious and achievable.
Delivered by task forces from the line organisation. Full-time task forces from both sites, working shoulder to shoulder with Axisto people, right across the organisation: from the shop floor to the board, across every shift.
Built a performance management framework together. Designed by the project team to do three things: make current performance against target visible to everyone, base decisions on facts rather than intuition, and make sure agreed actions were carried out and delivered what they were meant to deliver.
Working together against a common competitive threat, with structures that made that collaboration work, changed the relationship between the sites. Where obstruction had been routine, collaboration took its place.
What it delivered
- Delivery reliability: 65% (start cooperation) → 85% (end of project) → 98% (six months later)
- Grade-A product output: 20% (start cooperation) → 80% (end of project) → 90% (six months later)
- One integrated organisation, with both sites under a single management team
- Shorter time to market, through better project selection, capacity planning in the innovation department and project management
- Fiancially: the investment paid back five times over
What happened afterwards
Six months after we left, with no further involvement from Axisto, delivery reliability had risen to 98% and grade-A output to 90%: a further thirteen and ten percentage points respectively, achieved on their own.
Later visits found two sites fully integrated at every level, and a performance management framework still being used every day to push productivity and reliability further.
The project team co-created a new Performance Management Framework. This ensured that the
following objectives were achieved:
