"By focusing first on process design, standardization, and material flow, our engineering team was able to eliminate a critical production constraint without complex automation. The result was a more efficient internal logistics system, improved production reliability, and a scalable foundation for future automation initiatives."
Over $600,000

in annual cost savings

Reduced travel

for material handlers

3 months

ROI time

Automation

ready

About our customer

Our customer is a global manufacturer of precision components serving multiple industrial sectors, including agriculture, construction, marine, material handling, mining, and forestry equipment. Operating across complementary regions in Europe and North America, with growing presence in Asia, the company runs high-throughput production facilities supporting a broad international customer base.

The challenge

Our customer operates multiple high‑throughput production lines that require continuous replenishment of raw materials throughout each shift. As production volumes increased, the system began to show limitations as material delivery relied mainly on a manual and reactive workflow.

  • 43–48 minutes of cumulative production downtime per shift caused by delayed material deliveries
  • Significant non-value-added travel time for material handlers
  • Lack of standardised staging and order prioritisation
  • Reactive workflows that created variability in delivery timing

The solution

Rather than immediately pursuing complex automation technologies, the customer's engineering team focused on simplifying and standardising material flow using lean manufacturing principles.

Products used

The Modular Lean Dolly 600 x 400 mm has been specially designed to carry plastic crates and trays used in the automotive industry. It can be customised with different add-on features depending on your product flow and the packages to be carried. You can add for example a drawbar, side or corner supports or even modify the position of the wheels.