Press Release
November 2010
Oliver Wight helps Quality Furniture Companytowards Class A
Spurred on by the threat of competition from China, Quality Furniture Company (QFC) has undergone substantial business improvement and is now sitting pretty with a promising future, thanks to the changes it has implemented via an Oliver Wight Integrated Business Planning (IBP) programme, on its journey towards Class A accreditation.
The improvement journey has spawned many positive results, not least financial, with excellent cash flow position and higher operating profits. Sales and added value per employee are up, whilst improved stock turns mean there is £400,000 less cash tied up in the business. But perhaps more importantly, some customers are now asking QFC to make products that they have previously purchased from its Chinese competitors.
QFC established a name for itself in the 1990s as a manufacturer of mid-priced sofas. Following the arrival of sofas from China and the subsequent dramatic change to the UK market, however, it was recognised that future company success was requisite to change. Business improvement specialists, Oliver Wight, were engaged to implement an IBP (advanced S&OP) programme, which has inspired a dramatic transformation of the business.
Operations Director, David Bramwell firmly believes that Oliver Wight’s IBP has saved his business from falling victim to low-cost competition. “IBP is a template for how to run a manufacturing business excellently. Don’t try to adapt it; just do it.”
Before the programme began data was almost non-existent at QFC - stock was physically countedevery month. By contrast, management business reviews now incorporate a wealth of data. Forecasts are more accurate and this has greatly improved visibility for QFC, its customers and suppliers. “We’re beginning to work strategically with customers on three-year plans,” says Bramwell. “We have improved our performance dramatically and we have received platinum supplier status from Argos.”
QFC operates from a 13,000 sq metre facility in Grantham, Lincolnshire. It employs 200 people, turns over £21 million and is producing one sofa every 31 seconds – or 4,500 per week. Its products are sold via major high street retailers such as Argos, Tesco, Next and Sainsbury’s.
The company expects to achieve Class A in the New Year.
Notes to editors
About Oliver Wight
Oliver Wight has a 40 year track record of delivering business improvement to some of the world’s best-known organisations. With a team of professionals offering a wealth of experience, Oliver Wight is the largest consultancy of its type, with offices throughout Europe, South Africa, North and South America, and the Asia Pacific region. We believe that sustainable business improvement can’t be delivered by external consultants but only by our clients’ own people, so unlike other consultancy firms, we transfer our knowledge to them, helping deliver performance levels and financial results that last.
Integrated Business Planning
At the leading edge of management thinking and practice, our Integrated Business Planning (IBP) model lies at the heart of our clients’ journey to outstanding business performance. Oliver Wight are the originators of sales and operations planning (S&OP) and IBP can most simply be described as advanced S&OP. However, unlike S&OP, IBP brings a truly strategic perspective, integrating diverse processes - in the extended supply chain, product and customer portfolios, customer demand and strategic planning - into one seamless management process.
Supply Chain Optimisation
In an uncertain business climate, volatile demand and unpredictability can expose weaknesses in supply chain performance. Supply Chain Optimisation helps companies improve sub-standard systems and processes, delivering a significant return to the bottom line.
Meeting the Class A Standard
The Oliver Wight Class A Checklist is the longest standing and most successful business assessment tool. The latest, Sixth Edition, raises the bar, and sets ever more demanding standards for companies on their journey to business excellence and the Oliver Wight Class A standard.
More information
Carol CollinsSteve Lipscombe
Oliver Wight EAMERONIN Marketing Limited
+44 (0) 20 3326 5040