Key responsive manufacturing: our philosophy!

Key responsive manufacturing®: Our commitment to ultra-responsive, top-of-the-range, French-style industrial service

Responsive manufacturing is our new philosophy, which for several years now has been pragmatically combining and interweaving lean manufacturing and all the agile methods of short lead-time industrial management with the necessary technology in all the company's processes, in the service of production and the customer.

A few excerpts from our philosophy: 

1. A changing world shifts paradigms and pushes us to be more reactive
2. Key responsive manufacturing values by GARDETTE
3. The 7 major pillars of key responsive manufacturing by GARDETTE

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‍Thechanging world is shifting the paradigm and pushing us to be more reactive

Industrial companies are constantly challenged to meet customer expectations while ensuring just-in-time production, and improving return on investment. With the advent of globalization and successive crises, these challenges have been exacerbated, as manufacturers must now serve diverse markets, managing complex supply networks that have replaced traditional linear supply chains.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis have accelerated these phenomena for two major reasons:

• Firstly, many countries have temporarily closed down their production facilities and sometimes their borders. These travel restrictions disrupted supply chains and created shortages (of materials, energy, finished products, etc.) everywhere. These events have completely turned sourcing practices on their head, prompting companies to diversify their range of suppliers while bringing them closer together geographically to reduce dependence on transport.
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• The advent of telecommuting, once the norm only in certain service sectors, has also been democratized in industry, and with it related practices such as the increased use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for remote working and collaboration, e-commerce and data feedback and utilization.

At Gardette Industries, these events have forced us to adapt. To deal with them, we devised an extremely agile industrial management method that is not only applicable to production, but also and above all to all the company's other processes, which we call Key responsive manufacturing . ‍

Key responsive manufacturing is our new leitmotiv, enabling us to meet all these challenges and become even more competitive in the globalized industry, not only as a manufacturer but also as a supplier of solutions for our customers, through pragmatic management that starts with the incoming request.

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Key responsive manufacturing values by GARDETTE

In Key Responsive Manufacturing, our companies follow very different production models, which can be made-to-order, forecasting, predictive, agile, lean... 

The entire product lifecycle, from innovation to delivery, is streamlined to rapidly produce only what is needed, meet quality expectations and eliminate cost overruns, while having the capacity to grow and adapt to changes in demand.

Complete visibility over all stages of production is essential to the success of this approach. As manufacturers with an industrial DNA, we needed to break down departmental silos and ensure optimum integration of the systems and processes involved in the lifecycle. In addition, continuous real-time data collection at every stage of the business cycle (from opportunity identification to after-sales), forecasting and then detecting changes, and manufacturing to order are key aspects of reactive manufacturing.

In Key Responsive Manufacturing, production starts when it's "necessary" and optimal.
‍Thisapproach has enabled us as a manufacturer to develop a highly varied and complex product portfolio while drastically reducing production ancillary costs and eliminating phantom expenses.

Finally, the constant influx and analysis of production and organizational data ensures that products meet the quality and compliance standards of customers, and of the regulators who issue product certifications and accreditations based on our customer base.
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The main pillars of Key Responsive Manufacturing by GARDETTE

Agile top management

The management committee and the business executive committees (capteam, Vteq, etc.) meet at least once a week for a qualitative and quantitative, but above all ultra-rapid, review of the KPIs measured.

This approach is directly and clearly linked to the strategic plan, which is adjusted at most once a year, and which takes into account modelled forecasts of our customers' needs, both recurring and non-recurring. 

Key point: the KPIs measured and tracked are also adaptive to the challenges and weekly iterations linked to the reality and variety of offers and orders in progress at any given moment. 

This piloting method favours two things:

• Pragmatic adaptation of a "red line" plan rather than its theoretical application, which is by definition erroneous: In a constantly evolving industrial environment, it is essential to have an ultra-flexible and adaptable strategy that can be adjusted in line with new challenges and weekly iterations. Agile management enables us to work on short-term objectives while maintaining a long-term strategic vision. This enables the company to adapt quickly to market changes and make more informed decisions about the way forward.

• Management that follows "live" operational indicators rather than those based on past results: Agile steering is based on a goal-oriented approach that focuses on real-time operational indicators rather than on past results. This approach enables management to adapt very quickly to market changes and challenges, by making informed decisions based on reliable, up-to-date data. It also enables potential problems to be identified earlier, and corrective measures put in place to improve results.

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A proposal for a tailor-made business solution

We have adapted our sales department to the "new" needs of the market, or rather markets: a mix of small and medium quantities (80% of orders) and large quantities (20% of orders).

Many customers, many new markets, many types of needs (quality/quantity, etc.).

From lawnmower repairmen to direct car manufacturers, "post covid" customers are demanding ever greater responsiveness and service.
Ors, traditional industrial systems do not allow sales departments to offer expected solutions.
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The "make all" or "buy to local expert partners" strategy

We have developed a solid network of approved partner suppliers in collaboration with our quality department, enabling us to offer our customers several solutions.

As a manufacturer, we have refocused on the backbone of our differentiating processes, directing our investment in innovation towards these "in-house" processes. 

On the other hand, when we don't happen to have the machine or process required in the manufacturing range, rather than risk being too expensive or having too long lead times, we may therefore offer to have part of the customer's request carried out by one of our approved partners, in parallel with our in-house manufacturing proposal. This enables us to match customer demand with Gardette quality. Here are the advantages of this strategy:

• Reducing lead times: By having access to a network of local partners, we reduce production lead times by drawing on their expertise and production capabilities. This enables us to respond more quickly to customer requests and gain in responsiveness.
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• Diversification of skills: partner suppliers have skills and production equipment that complement those of the company. This enables us to broaden the range of finishes and product typologies offered to customers, and sometimes even improve the quality of the products manufactured.
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• Cost optimization: By having all or part of the customer's requirements manufactured by approved suppliers, the company can optimize its production costs by exploiting the competitive advantages of these suppliers. This leads to a reduction in the lead time/cost ratio for the company, and therefore for its customers.
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• Guaranteed quality: The company invests to ensure that its partners have the skills and capabilities to produce quality services via a complete matrix reviewed according to the major standards by our quality department. This enables us to guarantee the quality of the services offered to our customers and to improve their satisfaction.

Highly flexible island production

Island production consists of grouping different production stages into a compact unit dedicated to a specific product or a group of products with similar characteristics. Unlike line production, where each product passes through each production stage in a predetermined order, island production enables work to be carried out on several products at the same time, while offering greater flexibility in the order in which production stages are carried out. This is made possible by a deliberately measured investment to finance work-in-progress that enables us to oscillate constantly between push and pull flow, without losing the apha and omega of our manufacturing business: productivity.

In particular, island production enables us to

• Flexibility: the island approach allows greater flexibility in the production of different types of product. Islands can be designed to meet specific needs, such as the manufacture of customized products or the production of small series.
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• Versatility: employees on the islands are highly autonomous and constantly trained in new equipment and processes. This enables versatility at its peak in production and a better approach to human resources.
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• R&D process innovation and automation: Our performance is judged by our ability to have "the right machine for the right process at the right time" and for the right products. As a result, our entire performance measurement logic has been rethought on the basis of people, not machines.

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The value of women and men is our jewel, but that also makes it rare.

To preserve and develop it, everything that can be automated must be, but automation doesn't just mean robotization. Of course, our robots know how to load and unload machines, and much more besides, but from a man-machine perspective, machine autonomy, the elimination of repeat operations through innovation in R&D of our own processes, and the replacement of recurring tasks by ever more efficient and precise machines are just some of the innovations we've been implementing over the last few years as part of our key responsive manufacrturing approach.

• Improving quality: island production enables better control of production stages, as employees share responsibility for a specific set of tasks. We have demonstrated that this reduces errors and improves the overall quality of our offering.

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An internalized value chain

At Gardette, we understand that controlling the entire value chain in our industrial SME, from start to finish, brings many advantages. We can adapt every stage of production, right from the processing of specific raw materials, to our needs, quickly identify new requirements and respond to them more rapidly, thus improving the company's overall responsiveness.

• Vertical integration of the manufacture of our own cold-processed raw materials in our Villars plant. This almost insane gamble taken in 2013 to industrialize this company, which at the time was almost artisanal but had unique know-how, is today the cornerstone that has turned into a major asset as we emerge from covid and in penurious global contexts. We now manufacture for ourselves and our customers in a matter of days what used to take us several months to source.
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• Reducing lead times: With control over the entire value chain, the company can reduce production lead times by eliminating delays and waiting times between the various stages of production. This means faster production and faster delivery of products to customers.
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• Continuous automated quality control: By controlling the entire value chain, the company can monitor every stage of production and quickly detect quality problems. This reduces the risk of quality defects and improves customer satisfaction.
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• Flexibility: Controlling the entire value chain enables the company to be more flexible in the production and delivery of products. The company can quickly adjust production in line with customer needs or market conditions, improving overall responsiveness.
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• Continuous improvement: By controlling all the data fed back in real time, the company can implement continuous improvement processes to constantly improve the company's quality, productivity and responsiveness.
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• Cost control: By mastering the entire value chain, the company can better control production costs, by identifying sources of unnecessary costs or inefficiencies in production processes. This improves the company's profitability while maintaining product quality.
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The right kind of digitalization

In recent years, we have invested heavily in internal and external digitalization. This is the result of a simple observation: the market is evolving, and so are consumers. The buyer of 10 years ago no longer has the same practices as today, and the availability of effective, easy-to-implement tools is creating incredible opportunities. Here are the major elements of our digitalization:

• Implementing a digital marketing strategy: By using online communication channels, the company can better target potential customers and personalize its offers. This makes it possible to respond quickly to customer requests and better understand customer needs to improve the quality of its products and services.
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• Implementing a modern CRM linked to marketing data: An effective CRM system centralizes all customer information in a database that can be accessed by all company departments. This improves communication between the various departments, enabling them to better understand customer needs and propose solutions more quickly. Customers can also benefit from a better experience, thanks to a more personalized follow-up.