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Case Study - Smith & Nephew Surgical |
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Revised Operations & Integration of Acquired Business |
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Smith & Nephew Surgical - is a market leader in the research, development, manufacture, marketing, selling and distribution of sophisticated medical devices. |
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the brief - the UK distribution services were operated from a facility in Cambridge. The operations at this site had major problems with space, flow and access. They required a re-design of the warehouse and operation as this is a fast growing business and there was a need to provide 25% additional capacity to assimilate the requirement for a new range of products. |
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the approach - we commenced the project by visiting the site to collect data and understand the current operational procedures and layout of the building. We were very aware of the sensitive nature of Smith & Nephew Surgical's products, which are used during orthopaedic surgical operations. Because of this we were even more determined than usual to ensure that every stage went smoothly and customers were unaware of the changes. We were half way through the project when the client purchased another manufacturer (Acufex) which had to be transferred from Gosport and merged with the stock and operations at Cambridge. This made the project even more challenging but not impossible. Alternatives for the layout to maximise stock capacity were developed and at this point the decision was made to turn all the shelving through 90°. As this was the chosen option it made it possible to re-use most of the existing shelving supplemented by additional refurbished equipment. The last stage of the project was to review and re-write the clients operational procedures. |
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the result - The move of Acufex was organised to close the Gosport facility on Friday, move all the stock over the weekend and be to able to start picking at Cambridge on the Monday without the customers of either company being aware of the changes. The revised operational procedures were successful in obtaining ISO 9001 accreditation. |
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