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Case Study 4 - RHM Culinary Brands : What was done & why A manufacturing led business and home to many well known food brands including Sharwood’s, Bisto, Paxo and Robertson’s preserves. Acquired by venture capital house Doughty Hanson for c. £1.5bn RHM was floated on the London stock exchange in 2005. Formed by combining several existing manufacturing sites the operational culture within the group could best be described as diverse with different standards, systems and core processes. The task: Apply business process analysis techniques to identify opportunities to improve effectiveness and reduce unit costs. Develop structural and systemic solutions that create capability and provide the basis for a common operating process and future rationalisation of manufacturing units. The project must be self-financing within each financial quarter. The Changesmith Approach: Conduct a detailed review of operational effectiveness. By effectively "living" with each manufacturing unit over a period of 2-3 weeks a clear understanding of existing & potential learning opportunities was developed together with a jointly created project approach involving systems, process and people development. Develop & deploy common performance management systems. Working closely with HR, IS & operational management a common system of working was developed focused on improving operational effectiveness. Implementation, from boardroom to shop floor, was supported using a powerful blend of formal training, one to one & team coaching. Benefits & Results: The change programme was self-financing. Minimum measured improvements in process effectiveness of c.25%. Specific results include: Process failures reduced from 15% to 4%, Labour cost reductions of up to 20%. Financial benefits used to supplement costs of increasing market share and finance capital investment. An acknowledged capability to continuously improve, plan and commit to year on year operational benefits and develop Change regarded as a core capability. |