New Structure for a Furniture Manufacturer (83 employees)
We introduced a clear division of responsibility between the production and sales departments. We eliminated daily arguments over priorities. Operating profit rose by 11% in the first quarter.
Meble-Styl Poznań employs 83 people and had a serious communication problem. Production didn't know what sales had promised customers, causing deadlines to slip. We introduced hard rules and a clear hierarchy that calmed the situation on the shop floor and in the office.
The challenge
In March 2024, delivery delays affected 19% of all orders. Salespeople promised unrealistic deadlines just to close the deal. Production, in turn, learned about new priorities from shouting in the hallway. The board lost about 14 hours a week mediating between feuding managers.
There was no single source of truth about what was currently happening on the machines. Each department had its own sheet, and the data in them rarely agreed. Because of this chaos, the company paid contractual penalties, which last year amounted to nearly 12,400 PLN per month.
Our approach
We started with a hard audit of processes, which lasted 12 business days. Our team (3 specialists) went onto the shop floor and into the sales office to see where the information flow was actually breaking down. We talked to 7 foremen and the entire 5-person sales department.
Then, the corrective plan ratification took place. The rules are clear: production determines processing capacity, and sales must adapt to it. We designated one person responsible for approving deadlines, which once and for all ended the board veto in operational matters.
The solution
We implemented a tool called the Profit Roadmap. It is a simple, digital dashboard that shows real machine load in real time. A salesperson cannot enter a deadline shorter than the system valuation without the production manager's consent.
We also created a new order handover protocol. Instead of chaotic emails, salespeople fill out a short form that takes them 4 minutes. Thanks to this, production gets complete technical data immediately, without the need to ask about upholstery details or leg colors.
Results
14 weeks after implementing the new rules, the company regained operational liquidity and stopped paying penalties for delays.
Timeline
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March 2024Audit of 14 communication processes and interviews with staff.
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April 2024Plan ratification and setting of new decision permissions.
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May 2024Launch of Profit Roadmap for the sales department.
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June 2024First full month without contractual penalties for delays.
"The rules are clear and finally, no one gets in our way halfway through a shift. At first, I was skeptical because I thought it was just more bureaucracy. It turned out that 3 new procedures cut my overtime in half."