Case study · Food & Beverage
Aquafeed producer saves $19.2M a year by taking warehouse operations in-house
A leading aquafeed and animal nutrition producer had 76 open projects, high subcontracting costs and recurring inventory losses. USC built a project management office with the producer's team and moved warehouse management in-house.
Results
$19.2M
in annualized savings from warehousing and inventory control
68%
reduction in inventory variation
Savings are annualized.
The situation
Across its facilities, the producer had lost control: projects stalled, subcontracted warehousing cost well above market rates with little control, and recurring inventory losses eroded margins and caused missed deliveries.
What the assessment found
- 76 projects at varying stages, run in silos with no communication plan
- No clear task owners; deadlines missing or ignored
- Inexperienced project managers and no project management culture
- Material measured by the truckload in subcontracted warehouses
How the work was done
Projects: set one baseline
Built detailed plans with a baseline and critical path for each project and for the program, and tracked schedule compliance against them.
Office: build lasting capability
Designed a scalable project management office: standard practices, governance, performance measures and an experienced internal team.
Warehousing: bring it in-house
Moved the warehouses from a subcontracted model to in-house management, gaining control over operations.
Inventory: control the flow
Tightened monitoring of materials moving in and out of the warehouses.
68%
reduction in inventory variation
Lasting impact
The producer regained control of its projects and warehouses, with one version of the truth for every project and an internal team able to run future initiatives. Savings reached $19.2 million a year.
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