This case study refers to one particular contract within the united kingdom – the Waitrose contract. It briefly documents TQMI's work with K&N and their continuous improvement efforts.

1. The Continuous Improvement Specialists
Creating an Excellent Organisation

2. The Continuous Improvement Specialists
ABOUT K&N
Kuehne + Nagel deliver integrated
solutions across the supply chain that turn
companies’ logistics challenges into real
competitive advantages.
A global leader in international forwarding,
Kuehne + Nagel also ranks among the top
three worldwide contract logistics players.
The company, founded in 1890, has more
than 55,000 employees at 900 locations in
more than 100 countries.
This case study refers to one particular
contract within the united kingdom – the
Waitrose contract.
Kuehne + Nagel receives deliveries from
Waitrose suppliers at three regional
distribution centres. They then pick orders
for each Waitrose store and transport the
goods to stores twice daily. Approximately
1500 staff are employed on the contract to
cover the 24/7 operation.
THE ASSIGNMENT
Competition is fierce in contract logistics so
Kuehne + Nagel want to ensure that they
provide the best possible service for their
customer.
Being recognised as an excellent
organisation is one way of differentiating
themselves from the competition. Kuehne
+ Nagel is committed to continuous
improvement and has a global programme
in place.
We needed to ensure that the approach
adopted on the Waitrose contract met the
objectives outlined by its senior
management whilst supporting the global
Kuehne + Nagel programme.
“... TQMI’s experience and
willingness to understand
our business and culture,
has accelerated the
development of our
excellence programme...”

3. The Continuous Improvement Specialists
WHY TQMI
We were chosen for our expertise and
practical experience of helping
organisations to implement continuous
improvement approaches, our knowledge
of the EFQM Excellence Model, our
flexibility and ability to develop and deliver
a programme that would engage managers
at all levels.
TQMI designed and led a development
programme for all managers on the
Kuehne + Nagel Waitrose contract to
enable them to be effective leaders in a
culture of excellence.
The programme covered the following:
 EFQM Excellence Model
 The leader’s role in creating a culture
of excellence
 DMAIC (structured problem-solving)
 Lean tools and approaches
 Project management
Each manager then selected an
improvement project and worked with
colleagues to apply the DMAIC approach to
a real work situation.
We then facilitated a review day during
which the teams presented their projects
to senior managers and peers and
consolidated their learning from the
programme.
Define
Measure
AnalyseImprove
Control

4. The Continuous Improvement Specialists
THE RESULTS
The feedback from the programme has
been extremely enthusiastic and has
resulted in over 30 significant
improvement projects within the business.
The projects have generated cost savings
in excess of £200,000, increased staff
morale, reduced waste and improved
customer satisfaction.
One project, alone, generated sufficient
cost savings to offset the cost of the whole
programme.
The Kuehne + Nagel Waitrose team then
went on to achieve external recognition for
their achievements at the highest level on
their first attempt of Recognised for
Excellence 5* from the British Quality
Foundation (BQF).
£200,000
in savings
Costs Reduced
Waste
Staff
Moral
Customer
Satisfaction
Before
After

5. The Continuous Improvement Specialists
TQMI is a training and management consultancy specialising in Continuous Improvement. We help organisations achieve excellence
through consulting, coaching and training. Our extensive experience covers all Continuous Improvement tools and approaches
including: Kaizen, Six Sigma, Lean, Lean Six Sigma and the EFQM Excellence Model. We work with some of the country’s leading
organisations to help them outperform, improve processes, engage staff, delight customers and maximise results.
Established in 1987 we have trained thousands of people at all levels and in all sectors. If you would like to discuss your needs, please,
do not hesitate to contact us.
www.tqmi.co.uk
t: +44 (0)1928 734266
TQMI Ltd, Charter House,
63 Main Street, Frodsham,
Cheshire, WA6 7DF Consulting | Training | Improvement | Operational Excellence