Automation of costing model freeing up key capacity

Client:

Based in Melbourne, our partner is an innovative contract manufacturer specialising in developing products for a wide range of customers. With over 60 years' experience, our partner offers custom contract manufacturing services that prioritise quality, service, and reliability. Their capabilities include sourcing, packaging, formulating, and blending. They have successfully supplied over 9k unique products across diverse categories such as cleaning, cosmetics, and pet care.

The Problem:

The existing costing model posed several challenges. Firstly, it relied entirely on manual data entry to incorporate current pricing information, making the process cumbersome and error-prone. Secondly, populating data into the model was a slow and laborious task, involving swivel-chairing between multiple systems. Finally, the managing director was burdened with additional hours each day solely dedicated to updating the model, which detracted from more strategic decision-making responsibilities.

The Solution:

To overcome these obstacles, a solution was devised to automate the updating process of the costing model with the latest pricing data. This involved implementing a system where data could be automatically populated into the model directly from the source systems. By leveraging automation, the manual effort required for maintaining the model was significantly reduced, and the accuracy of the data input improved.

The Outcome:

The implementation of automation brought about several positive outcomes. Firstly, it drastically decreased the amount of manual work that the managing director had to perform, freeing up valuable time that could be allocated to more impactful tasks. Specifically, this automation saved over 10 hours per week for the managing director alone. Secondly, the streamlined process enhanced the efficiency and accuracy of updating the costing model and review existing contract pricing, leading to more informed decision-making. Overall, the adoption of automation not only alleviated operational burdens but also empowered our client to focus its efforts on strategic business development initiatives.

Next Steps:

Our client is now reviewing and critiquing the rest of their reporting functionalist to identify where automation can be leveraged to save team members and managements capacity.