Overview

A client in Perth, Western Australia, the largest wholesale fresh produce business with over 100 years of operation, identified a problem; that the processing of produce orders was not standardised. This had led to variable performance on a daily basis that could not be properly controlled or improved. Customers complained, the staff were not able to perform consistently and management were frustrated at the mercurial performances in the business. The operations exemplified the notion of hyper-activity; working hard for mediocre result. The organisation had 16 separate units each with its own standard of processing orders for produce.

Approach

A team was formed; each unit was represented in the team that worked with CPC to develop core processes for the whole operation. This entailed several workshops and discussion sessions to promote understanding of the ways in which each unit was both similar and different, in its order processing.

Result

• Core Order Process System Design for standardised completion of common transactions for each of the 16 units
• Standardised, measured, and controlled order process across all 15 units
• 38% increase in order processing improvement

Conclusion

The design of a core Order Process system allowed each of the 16 units to complete common transactions in a standardised manner. Minimal allowance was made for the differences of some units. This allowed the order process to be standardised across all 15 units, measured, and controlled. Most importantly it produced a remarkable 38% increase in order processing improvement (namely, the accuracy and timeliness of orders) across the organisation. An ordering system was required, note that it was the ‘system’ that required fixing.