Journey 1: Sleeping Cash
Find the cash trapped in inventory, WIP and finished goods
PPC consulting
Production planning & control consulting that pays for itself
We work with engineering manufacturing units on the shop floor and in planning, purchase and stores, until productivity, WIP, inventory and on-time delivery measurably improve. We charge on success fees.
Outcomes
What we improve
Higher productivity
More output from the same machines and people, by fixing sequencing, loading and waiting before anyone talks about a new machine or another shift.
- Machine loading and sequencing
- Bottleneck management
- Setup and idle time
- Less overtime and firefighting
Lower WIP and inventory
Cash released from raw material, WIP and finished goods, by buying and starting only what the plan needs and finishing what has been started.
- WIP limits and release rules
- Excess, slow and dead stock
- Purchase quantity and timing
- Shortage control
Better on-time delivery
Delivery dates customers can rely on, by planning against real capacity and material, and recovering at-risk orders every day.
- Realistic commitment dates
- Revenue-at-risk reviews
- Daily recovery meetings
- Shorter lead time
Common challenges
Problems we are called in for
- Delivery dates that keep slipping, and urgent orders that jump the queue
- WIP piling up on the shop floor while dispatch stays flat
- Inventory that keeps growing while shortages still stop production
- Busy machines, overtime and premium freight, but not more output
- Purchase driven by discounts and supplier lot sizes instead of the plan
- Monthly reviews spent explaining problems instead of preventing them
Scope
What an engagement covers
Every plant is different, so the scope is agreed after the diagnostic. Most engagements cover these areas.
Diagnostic and baseline
Plant walk, order-to-dispatch study and data review, ending in a baseline for each agreed KPI.
- Lead time and waiting time
- WIP and inventory age
- OTD by customer and product
Planning system design
A planning process the team can run every day, built on real capacity and material availability.
- Master production schedule
- Material requirement planning
- Capacity and machine loading
- Shortage lists
Shop-floor execution and WIP control
Work released in priority order, queues made visible, and jobs finished before new ones start.
- Release rules and WIP limits
- Daily priority lists
- Delay and rejection tracking
Inventory and purchase
Buying what the plan needs, when it needs it, and releasing cash from stock that is not moving.
- ABC / XYZ and min-max review
- Excess and dead stock
- Supplier lead time and follow-up
Delivery recovery
Orders at risk identified at the start of the month, with an owner and a recovery plan for each constraint.
- Revenue-at-risk review
- Constraint owners
- Daily recovery meeting
KPI reviews that drive action
Short weekly and monthly reviews built on the agreed KPIs, so management discusses decisions, not excuses.
- Productivity
- WIP and inventory
- On-time delivery
- Cash released
Consulting and software
Consulting first, software where it helps
This is not a software sale. Most of the improvement comes from planning discipline: clear priorities, realistic commitments, controlled WIP and daily follow-up.
Where it helps the new process stick, we use Navigator PPC, our production planning & control software, alongside your existing ERP: priority and delay tracking, MRP and shortage lists, machine loading and KPI dashboards.
- Engagement
- On-site consulting with your team
- Software
- Navigator PPC, where it helps
- Works with
- Your existing ERP and data
- Fee
- Success fee on verified results
Industries
Who we work with
Engineering manufacturing units where work is planned around customer orders, routings and machines, and where delivery, WIP and inventory decide cash flow.
Manufacturing modes
PPC Journeys
See how we think about these problems
Journey 6: The Money Sleeping on the Shop Floor
Release cash blocked in work-in-progress
Journey 5: The Trust Factory
Protect future revenue through on-time delivery
Next step
Start with a diagnostic of your plant
Tell us what you manufacture and where planning breaks down. We charge on success fees, so the first conversation is about the results you need.