Situation: In the middle of a major management team transition, BSF was looking for long-term growth and a fresh start for their small business. Due to the nature of their business, BSF was faced with an ever-increasing number of product variations and customer requirements. Although capable of meeting these needs, BSF need to know how to best ‘suit up’ to strongly compete in the market. TechSolve recognized BSF’s potential and offered them a spot in the first pilot for Pathways for Continuous Improvement®, which would provide them with the right tools to broaden their business and entrepreneurial minds.

Project: A multi-functional team from BSF worked with TechSolve on the highly-intensive, six-month Pathways program. Initially, the team determined where they were in the market, listing what they thought were the primary drivers for purchases from their customers. From there, BSF conducted an assessment, surveying customers to determine what they considered important when purchasing from BSF. With the help of a TechSolve expert, they completed a Value Stream Map of their shop floor to identify the flow process and locate areas of improvement. This opened up the opportunity to explore more existing practices, including developing a cohesive system to communicate across the entire company — from shop floor to front office.

Results:

  • Improved scheduling and delivery by about 30%.
  • Improved staff communication.
  • Added two new machines.
  • Hired two new machinists.
  • Purchased the Hoover’s marketing program for optimal sales growth.
  • Purchased E2 ShopTech software for streamlined, cross-functional communications.
  • Brought on an online configurator that will reduce quoting time by up to 50%.
  • Initiated plans to refocus the company’s energy toward developing customer market segments.