Pellet BBQ Integration / Expansion

Scenario: This project involved a private company manufacturing and distributing pellet BBQ's whose owners sold the operation to a P.E. group. The new P.E. owners hired us to transition the organization from a mostly regional operation to one with a national presence. The issues that needed to be addressed included the need to increase sales and revenue growth, expand manufacturing facilities to increase output capability, address quality issues with product finish, optimize the sales force to align with the new national, vision for the company and to hire a professional management team.

In the role of acting President and CEO I addressed each of these issues concurrently over the following 5-months.

Sales Force Restructuring: The company had two inside sales representatives and one remote commissioned sales representative. I converted this sales force to a streamlined structure made up of one sales director, two inside regional sales managers, one remote regional sales manager, and six commission-based sales representatives.

Customer Referral Program: To augment traditional contact-based sales practices used by the sales team. I ideated and implemented a customer ambassador program where our naturally zealous customers could gain from their love of talking about their grills would earn rewards for referrals that originated through their efforts.

Manufacturing Facility Expansion: This required locating, leasing, designing, building out and commissioning a new manufacturing facility. The primary requirement was to create a facility that would provide a lift of 400% to the existing daily production capacity.

Quality Improvement: The company's #1 quality issue was finish integrity due primarily to poor finish abrasion and durability qualities. To address this, I used my past experience with powder coating to identify, acquire and have installed a moving finishing line incorporating powder coat application stations and in-line curing ovens.

Metrics:

• First-year sales growth increase from $9.0 mil to $17.0 mil with 2nd year estimate of ~$35.0 mil
• Single-shift increase in output capability of 400%
• Internal rework of paint finish issues dropped from 4.75% to 1.5%

Future State: Future initiatives that could be considered include further expanding the customer ambassador referral program, exploring additional automation opportunities within the manufacturing process, and optimizing the sales model to better align with changing market trends.

Outcome: The client was in a matter of 4-months able to transition to the desired national sales model and benefits from the resultant growth in revenue. Overall organization effectiveness, efficiency and customer satisfaction increased and an unplanned reduction of ship in / out costs was also achieved.