Supply Chain Strategy

Every successful supply chain is founded on a clear, effective strategy. We’ve helped clients, from £ multi-billion corporations to single-site manufacturers, to design and develop pragmatic supply chain solutions. In doing so, we’ve improved their service levels, reduced costs, and driven their business forwards. We don’t write strategy documents for clients just to “put in a drawer”; instead, we’re fully committed to working side by side with our clients, to actively implement and realise value from their investment in strategy development.

Supply chain planning

We have developed and implemented business and supply chain planning processes for a wide range of organisations, from UK MOD to Hanson Aggregates. Our approach is data-driven, and we fully appreciate that the devil is in the detail, so we are incredibly pragmatic and hands-on. We work closely with client teams to identify opportunities and to clearly target improvements, and make sure they are delivered – quickly and efficiently. And whilst ‘perfect world’ planning pans out elegantly, it seems we are, however, living in changeable times. More and more, the weather is becoming a very unpredictable and lynchpin factor for our clients’ operations. With that in mind, we take great care to try to plan for all contingencies to keep our clients systems robust and viable.

Enterprise Applications

Specifying and implementing major software programmes is one of the biggest investments an organisation can make. Detailed planning and design work, coupled with pragmatic, realistic management of timescales, are amongst the common factors in their successful implementation. Our teams have a breadth of real world experience, and have lived through major supply chain and ERP programmes, so they can help clients realise rapid value from their investments.

Asset Management

Asset Management is a crucial element within successful supply chain management. From optimising sites and equipment to reducing fleet size and ownership costs, we have consistently delivered increased ROI for clients, from Local Authorities to FMCG clients. We’ve typically managed to successfully reduce fleet size and costs by a huge 10-20%, and, crucially, we’ve achieved this with no negative impact on service levels whatsoever. Equally importantly, Weir specializes in managing the lifecycle of assets to ensure an organization gains optimum benefit from the asset with the minimum outlays for purchase and ongoing maintenance and minimum loss for depreciation and disposal.

Procurement

Our teams work with clients to develop Best-in-Class procurement processes. We begin by auditing the current organisation, and its processes and costs, and only when we have a clear view of the organisation’s landscape, do we identify clear, deliverable improvements. Our experts have delivered cost savings for a huge range of product and service categories across most industry sectors. Projects have ranged from tactical training and improvement activities for a medium-sized food manufacturer, through to full Category Management for military equipment. Obviously, it speaks volumes that the military have engaged Weir for our operational and organizational skills.

Logistics

Our business was originally conceived and created by a group of physical logistics experts, who shared a passion and talent for operational excellence. Over the years, we have: worked on critical warehouse turnaround projects with Dentsply and Avery Dennison, optimised networks for large retailers and distributors, and set up physical operations around Europe, Middle East and North Africa. Whether your organisation is in need of a full network redesign, or is keen to squeeze the maximum out of its existing operations, we can certainly help.

Sustainability

Sustainability is the new frontier in supply chain operations. As businesses strive to reduce their environmental impact, and identify and manage risks, so then supply chain visibility becomes ever more important. This is about far more than simply “doing the right thing”. Our “Crystal Globe” assessment tool enables complex businesses to evaluate the maturity of their operations. It provides a clear overview, so our clients can develop a coherent strategy, and then prioritise improvements. These, in turn, deliver hard savings, and reduce risks. And vitally, last but by no means least, these improvements all work together to create a markedly improved, and sustainable, brand perception.