As part of its drive to make significant improvements in performance, the Royal Mint engaged Knox to help it deliver significant financial benefits through increased sales, stream-lining overhead structures and productivity gains throughout the business.
David Barrass, Chief Executive said,
“It was clear that we needed a partner to help us make what amounted to a step-change in performance. We carried out a thorough tendering exercise and from over a hundred expressions of interest selected Knox D’Arcy to help us. What marked out their proposition from the others was their track-record in implementation and their entirely practical approach. To put it simply we felt that they would do what they said they’d do and that’s not always the case with consultants.”
The Programme was structured into three modules; Firstly Procurement, where a more rigorous approach to the management of data including consolidating suppliers and spend, the introduction of supplier management systems and a more systematic approach to ensuring best value has delivered significant savings.
Secondly Sales, where a new structure and product design process is allowing greater focus on targeting opportunities and growing the top-line. In telesales both activity levels and orders have increased significantly.
Thirdly Manufacturing, where productivity has been increased either by the removal of bottlenecks, the reduction of downtime, better planning and/or the improved control of people and processes. For example in coin striking volume level increases of up to 40% have been achieved by succesfully impacting press downtime, changeovers, stoppages, jams and machine speeds. This has not required any capital expenditure and indeed has removed the need for the purchase of new machinery and additional shifts.
Across the business more than twenty separate operating systems have been analysed and critiqued together with the management, and new systems designed and installed reducing proliferation, increasing accountability and focussing management on performance issues. This has been underpinned by a huge management training exercise spanning all three of the operational modules.
The Programme is now at an end and David Barrass, added,
“Knox D’Arcy has helped us achieve a transformation in performance and the cost base. Their main strengths have been the rigour that they apply to their analysis and their ability to actually implement the required changes successfully and make it happen. There has also been very little disruption considering the sweeping nature of some of the changes and that is down to their ability to work closely with the various layers of management and ensure that the buy-in is obtained.”