Stanley Case Works

Profile

Location: Stanley, WI
Headquarters: Stanley, WI
No. of Employees: 16

Products: Trunks, footlockers, and pistol cases

NWMOC Projects: Lean Manufacturing Overview and Simulation, Lean Value Stream Mapping

Situation

This small manufacturer in Stanley, Wisconsin, was seeking to increase sales, improve lead-time to their customers, reduce manufacturing throughput time, increase employee involvement, increase marketing efforts, and update manufacturing methods to support production.

Project

After visiting the company and discussing needs with company representatives, NWMOC Project Managers conducted the Lean Manufacturing Overview and Simulation Workshop for 10 employees, followed by the Lean Value Stream Mapping project implementation. The main footlocker process was mapped and evaluated for opportunities to reduce waste. The Lean Principles and tools were applied to the current state map to create a future state map with reduced waste and a process designed to meet the capacity, quality, and lead time requirements for Stanley Case Works customers. The company website was redesigned to facilitate online ordering for customers and to increase visibility in the marketplace. As projected, the increase in capacity was needed because the internet marketing project generated more sales volume.

Results

• Reduced processing lead time by 50%
• Improved profit margin by 10-15%
• Reduced WIP inventory from 30 days to 6 days
• Increased market share
• Reduced defect rate
• Increased cash flow
• Retained 13 employees and added 3
• Increased sales per employee 20-25%