Client
Rajratan (India and Thailand units) is a leading manufacturer of High Carbon Steel Wire in India – specializing in Automotive Tyre Bead Wire, high quality Spring & Rope Wire products.
Problem Context
The company was not able to make steady profits due to low operational efficiencies in its manufacturing units and difficulty in improving market share in an industry with small number of large customers. Stagnant sales and inefficient operations led to thin margins with frequent losses in orders, occurring due to quality problems. High contribution of steel prices towards overall cost added to the woes.
"What differentiate Levers for Change are their hands on way of working, working with everyone from the operator/technician to the MD/CEO with ease and strong analytical skills. Levers for Change's evaluation process, disciplined approach to observation analysis and improvements brought in by simple but effective techniques have enabled significant improvements in the various areas of operations."
D Trivedi
Chief Operating Officer, Rajratan Global Wires Limited, Indore
Services Offered
Throughput Improvement and Sales Transformation programs were executed in both Indore and Thailand Plants
Key Levers for Improvements
MANUFACTURING
A complete Value Stream Analysis was done that identified the bottleneck process and major losses. Following were the key levers for improvements:
- Low machine speeds due to fear of Quality deviations and Wire Breakages were identified as the top levers for improvements. This needed identification and control of all machine and process parameters, in the bottleneck and upstream processes.
- Equipment reliability was improved through identification of major one-time projects and implementation of robust Preventive Maintenance (PM) practices.
- Quick changeover systems were implemented across the value stream.
- Robust Planning system implemented to improve coordination and smooth flow of material through the system.
- Effective review systems helped bring discipline in execution and to drive on-time completion of actions.
SALES
A complete Value-chain analysis was done to identify the areas for improvement.
- Market survey was done to identify the overall potential of the market. This revealed that the real market size was not identified. Deep customer insights helped create an action plan for winning better counter shares with each client.
- Key Account Management processes were implemented to continuously and formally gather information on their expectations and pain areas. All stakeholders in the buy decision were identified and quarterly feedback system was started with them.
Results Achieved
India: Efficiency improved by 25%, quality issues reduced by over 50% and Rajratan became a leader in Indian market surpassing competition.
Thailand: Along with the Management’s other efforts; LFC’s program was an important initiative that helped turnaround this unit.