32% operating cost reduction and 98.9% OTIF in under 3 months

The manufacturer’s network of accessory plants was hit by unexpected demand from its major automotive customers. Operating costs ran out of control and delivery dates were being missed. Two of its largest customers threatened to cancel over $500M in annual contracts. The client evaluated several Tier-1 consulting firms and selected WGA for its accelerated approach.

The stakes were structural as well as commercial. Accessory suppliers live on OTIF performance: automotive customers design supplier scorecards around it, and sustained misses move share to competitors permanently. Recovering delivery reliability while cutting cost, rather than buying reliability with expediting spend, was the constraint that shaped the whole engagement.

In two weeks, WGA identified a combination of people, culture, process and operating problems and prioritized the action plans. WGA consultants then temporarily took over executive leader roles at the plants to drive the improvements directly, an unusual step that removed the gap between recommendation and execution.

The engagement ran as a rescue, not a study. Week one and two: diagnosis across the plant network, with findings ranked by cost and delivery impact. From week three: prioritized action plans in motion, with WGA consultants holding temporary executive roles at the plants so improvement decisions carried immediate authority. Weekly results reviews tracked operating cost and OTIF against the baseline, and leadership roles transferred back to the client’s managers as each plant stabilized. The full arc, from first diagnosis to resolved operations, ran inside three months.

Results as the client recorded them, in its own operating metrics: Operating costs down more than 32%, worth $127M a year

Customer OTIF improved 29 points to 98.9% per week: Issues resolved in under 3 months