The growth plan was ready. The operation wasn’t.

01 · Situation

A big plan on a small foundation.

The company’s private equity backers saw a real opportunity: expand retail, kitchen, delivery, and e-commerce operations, all at once.

But the supply chain and operations team was early in their careers, the business lacked efficient processes and systems, and the supply network had little room to scale.

02 · Problem

Growth would have broken it.

We started on the floor, in the warehouse and kitchens. A few things showed up fast...

• Inventory counts weren’t always done, so the numbers couldn’t be trusted
• Transfers between locations weren’t closed out, throwing counts off further
• Supplies needed par levels and usage reports to drive reordering
• Too many vendors, and some weren’t performing
• E-commerce had no fulfillment partner built to scale with it

None of this was a people problem. The team simply hadn’t been given the systems to grow into.

03 · Action

Fix the basics. Build the partners. Grow the team.

1. Get the inventory right. A full count, par levels and usage reports for supplies, and a simple process to close out transfers between locations.
2. Kaizen the warehouse. With the team, we planned a warehouse Kaizen to clear out excess equipment and stock, designed a Kanban system, and helped them own their space.
3. Consolidate vendors. Underperforming suppliers were replaced with one strategic packaging and shipping partner, guaranteeing service on demand.
4. Stand up a 3PL. We developed and managed a new third-party logistics partner to handle fast e-commerce growth.
5. Level up the team. We coached the operations team as we worked, so the new processes stayed with them.

04 · Result

Ready to double.

The new packaging and shipping partnership saved more than 10%, plus an initial pre-bate and ongoing monthly rebates worth another 3 to 5%.

The 3PL operation gave e-commerce room to run. And the operations and supply chain work supported 2× year-over-year growth.