The Client was preparing for significant growth, with annual packaging volumes projected to increase from approximately 2 million cases to 14 million cases while introducing new product platforms and packaging formats. Existing warehouse layouts, inventory practices, shipping infrastructure, and production support areas had been designed for a much smaller operation and were not positioned to support the projected scale. Limited inventory visibility, facility congestion, and future distribution constraints created risks to both growth and operational efficiency.
First Key conducted an integrated assessment of production capacity, warehouse utilization, inventory management, shipping operations, and facility layout to determine the operational requirements needed to support future expansion. The team evaluated packaging capacity, warehouse space utilization, dock throughput, inventory flows, and future volume scenarios to identify critical bottlenecks and prioritize improvement opportunities. Recommendations included ERP-integrated inventory management practices, barcode scanning, warehouse reorganization, raw material and spare-parts optimization, packaging hall expansion concepts, and a long-term distribution center strategy designed to support future growth.
The resulting roadmap provided leadership with a phased strategy to improve inventory visibility, optimize facility utilization, remove growth constraints, and align infrastructure investments with long-term production objectives.
• Defined a scalable operating model capable of supporting growth from 2.0 million to 14.0 million annual cases, representing a 7x increase in production capacity.
• Reduced a key Phase 1 packaging constraint from 142% of one-shift capacity to 77% utilization through the implementation of a two-shift operating model.
• Identified a Phase 2 packaging strategy capable of achieving approximately 65% utilization through the addition of a high-speed packaging line operating across three shifts.
• Determined that distribution infrastructure would become the primary growth constraint, with projected dock demand reaching 260% of one-shift capacity, supporting the recommendation for a third-party distribution center strategy.
• Identified significant inventory optimization opportunities, including the reduction of can inventory from 119 days of supply toward a 7-to-14-day best-practice range.
• Established a phased operational roadmap linking inventory management, warehouse utilization, packaging expansion, and distribution strategy to future growth requirements.
