Order Fulfillment

WIKA Instrument Corporation

Client

WIKA Instrument Corporation, the world leader and manufacturer of pressure gauges and other critical measurement instruments squeezes out waste to make more space. A clear vision of future market requirements guides WIKA USA's pursuit of a lean value chain.

Challenge

The company's distribution department needed to support a globally competitive market strategy by reducing order-to-shipment lead times and preparing for a 25% increase in sales volume without adding people and floor space.

Solution

After establishing market-based objectives for where they need to be by 2010, WIKA creates a detailed schedule of mutually-reinforcing kaizen events and related projects. Cross-functional improvement teams apply lean principles to simplify order picking, packaging and shipping processes. The changes will also streamline product flow, and improve inventory management.

Result

The team kicked off its pick, pack and ship improvement plan with a strategic visioning event that developed a roadmap of how to achieve the objectives. They're now executing from a roadmap with a clear action plan to drive value chain improvements. WIKA's 210,000 sq.-ft. U.S. headquarters and factory in Lawrenceville, GA, can now assemble and deliver over 50,000 different product configurations in a few days. It also ships 1,400 different stock items the same day that orders are received. Offering such superior service to its customers gives the company an edge compared to overseas competitors in terms of cost and customer responsiveness.

Less than one year into a three-year plan, WIKA has already achieved double digit improvements in productivity and quality. WIKA has already improved productivity by 17% and reduced errors by 43%. This will ensure that WIKA can meet additional sales volume and change from multi-line orders to single line orders.