1. J
2300 S. Calhoun Rd., New Berlin, WI 53151
Telephone (262) 786-1500
Advanced Performance Inc.
3103 East Forestview Trail
Crete, IL 60417-1838
Dear Jim and Larry,
I wanted to thank you again for your support and assistance in helping develop and
institutionalize the Lean Culture at A&A Manufacturing. It has been a pleasure working with you
and, while you will be missed, I am both very confident in and extremely excited about the
ongoing lean efforts and culture that we have established here at A&A.
As you know, our results to date have been extraordinary, in both the manufacturing and
administrative areas of the organization. A snapshot of significant accomplishments includes:
- Through implementation of cellular manufacturing, a reduction of material flow from
4,400’of travel to less than 400’ in the Telescopic Cover product line. This has been
instrumental in reducing WIP from 2-3 weeks down to 2-3 days, improving OTD to
consistently over 95%, and reducing lead-times from 8-10 weeks down to 3-5 while
providing significant flexibility for expedited 1-2 day orders which currently represent as
much as 10% of our daily production.
- Reconfiguration of our Order Entry process from 55 steps down to 15 steps resulting in a
reduction of order acknowledgement time from 3-5 days down to 1 day, 90% of the time.
The hidden benefit of this is a significant reduction in the number of customer calls
following up to insure their order had been received which has intern freed up our
Customer Service personnel to focus on providing technical assistance to customers.
- Implementation of KANBAN pull processes for raw material inventory and replenishment
management which has significantly reduced material shortages while also reducing the
amount of labor required to process materials orders.
These results are just a small sampling of similar improvements made throughout the
organization in a variety of administrative processes and in virtually every product/process line.
The tools and techniques that your training provided were foundational in making these
improvements. Of equal or greater value was your ability to communicate with and relate to
people at all levels of the organization and generate both understanding and, most importantly,
buy in to the Lean Culture. Given the veteran nature of our workforce, getting this engagement
was initially a key concern of mine. I am both impressed by and grateful for your expertise in
getting virtually everyone in the organization actively involved in Continuous Improvement/Lean.
We currently have over 150 active or identified Lean Improvement Projects throughout the
business involving everyone from operators to customer service to top management.
I have enjoyed working with you on this journey towards Lean and wish you well as you help
other company’s on their path. Please feel free to use our experience and/or have prospective
clients contact me as a recommendation of your service. The results we have achieved (and plan
on yet achieving) are a direct result of your ability to ignite our employee teams and bring value to
the Lean Cultural Transformation process.
Thanks again,
Daniel J. Croal
Vice President – Operations
A&A Manufacturing Co. Inc. – Gortite & Gortrac Divisions