Operational Diagnostic -Food manufacturer achieves $500K in annual savings

Leveraging TriVista’s Lean & Process Improvement Expertise, the client was able to generate $500,000 dollars in savings.

The Background

The largest provider of fresh deli solutions, TriVista’s client makes fresh salsa, dips, and hummus for consumers sold through major retail chains. Their product can be seen on grocery store aisles across the country and they provide snack food for millions of Americans each year. Private Equity owned, the client specializes in rapid production and distribution in order to maximize the shelf life of the product.  Despite their dominant market position, the client faced growing operational pressure in the form of higher commodity prices. Unable to pass these price increases along to the customer, the client turned to TriVista to leverage TriVista’s operational expertise to lower operational cost and consequentially, raise margins.

The Approach

TriVista was engaged to perform an Operational and Food Safety Diagnostic, which resulted in the development of an operational improvement roadmap focused on:

• Optimized Product Flow and Facility Layout
• Supplier Communication, Selection & Performance
• Line Management
• Changeover Time Reduction
• Batch Loading Process Improvement
• Food Safety Best Practice Recommendations

Over a three week period, TriVista was able to develop over ten projects that would lead to a $500,000 reduction in annual operating costs. Many of these projects required no capital expenditures, and were easily implemented by the management team. Moreover, these projects ranged from operational flow improvement to supplier container size, to reduction of changeover time, to improvements in batch loading.