Value Stream Mapping Points the Way to Higher Productivity for Chief Enterprises
Client Profile: Founded in 1991 to supply pre-coated metal products for signage and point-of-purchase displays, Chief Enterprises soon made the transition from a commodity producer to a solutions provider for OEMs in the automotive sector. From its 30,000-square-foot facility in Elmhurst, Illinois, Chief handles light manufacturing and distribution of relays, wire harnesses, wiper assemblies and related products. Over the past 7 years, Chief has secured Master International Distributor designations with Bosch, MTA and Seger and tripled its sales from $6 million to nearly $20 million. The family-owned company has 35 employees.
Situation: Chief Enterprises is engaged in an aggressive growth strategy with the goal of achieving $40 million in sales by 2010. Company President Andrew Gabelman recognized the need for systems and process improvements to accommodate growth. After attending a Lean 101 simulation, he asked the Chicago Manufacturing Center (CMC) to help his company begin the Lean Journey.
Structured Solution: CMC led a company-wide Lean 101 workshop, followed by a Value Stream Mapping exercise focused on one of the company's standard Bosch products.
Results: The VSM pointed the way to improvements in the quoting process that eliminated several steps and consolidated the process in a single department. By following CMC's facilitated VSM exercise, Chief was able to identify candidate areas for Kaizen events that were scheduled through spring and summer of 2006.
Employees gained practical experience in VSM techniques that they intend to re-apply to non-standard products, in a series of VSM events and follow-up Kaizen events.
“The value stream map was key to streamlining our quoting process: we broke it down, made it simple, and made it better. As our partner in launching our lean journey, CMC added value by helping us to see where we needed to improve, rather than stagnating or becoming overly reliant on outside experts for our own improvements.“
Andrew Gabelman, President
