Aerospace: Fortune 100 Company

Customer Success Story: Fortune 100 Company (Aerospace)
Business Issue: Client Seeking Outsourced Operational Expertise and Reliable Logistics Performance

Company Overview

A global conglomerate organization is in the top 10 largest companies in the US and top 25 in the world. Success of this large company is based on seizing opportunities. That is exactly what transpired when this organization saw that the aerospace industry needed services for rotatable and spare parts to the aircrafts power units. These capital-intensive pieces of equipment keep the world in the air and comprise one of the most expensive parts on an aircraft. Repairing, refurbishing and providing spare parts is essential to the industry and this company is meeting the global demand for superior services.

Challenges:

LEGACY has built a long-standing relationship with this Fortune 100 company in many of their business units, including servicing their Aerospace business unit on several large scale projects. When a new business strategy emerged for creating this business, the company chose to manage the logistics in-house. However, building talent in execution of logistics takes time — and they quickly realized that they would improve more rapidly by partnering with LEGACY.

In addition to the issues the client was facing developing a quality in-house logistics workforce, there were no standardized operational procedures to provide the new business a footing to scale at the right speed. A provider with a proven model for running large scale manufacturing & refurbishment logistics operations was required.

As with any outsourcing relationship, the client had to believe that by bringing in a 3^rd party warehouse operator – they were actually taking back control of their logistics operation. Outsourcing the logistics operations of this new aerospace business required a true understanding of the Key Performance Indicators that would represent success, real-time visibility into the state of the operational metrics, and a continuous focus on driving improvements.

Solutions:

High-touch Service & Communication: LEGACY installed weekly business review meetings to clearly understand the drivers of the work. The meetings focus on mission-critical data, resulting in frequent & highly actionable communication that allowed LEGACY to adjust quickly to meet the client’s customer expectations. Operations leadership share the near term business requirements and LEGACY incorporates the agreed strategy to the operation. Continuous improvement project decks ensure on-going focus on improving the warehouse operational performance. Frequent and reliable information is key to cost-effective execution on the floor of the warehouse. These meetings evolve and incorporate the performance metrics, new data from both teams, and strategic planning for the future. This is truly a key pillar of the relationship and partnership for success.

Reliable Performance: LEGACY brought proven processes and a standardized operating model to this newly formed business unit – which has quickly established the track record of service performance reliability that this aerospace equipment manufacturer was seeking. LEGACY brought the skill to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) that support reliable outcomes. The deployment of processes and procedures throughout the operation provided exactly what the client wanted and the end customer needed.

Cost Controls: Great business plans often run into challenges with costs. Controlling costs and improving performance can go hand in hand — not a novel thought when you understand the drivers of cost. LEGACY operations are trained in delivering the most cost effective methods in logistics operations, thus delivering on our promise of real value. LEGACY leveraged Lean/Six Sigma principles to develop “Standardized Work” instructions so every process results in execution of required activities in the most optimized manner. This approach brings everyone performing work up to the same level of performance. New suggestions for improvement drive continuous refinement of the standardized work instructions, as well as serve a basis for communication and training to the team. The results – everyone improves and costs go down. The value delivered to the business is continual and supports growth and success. This is a true demonstration of a client/3PL partnership with visible results.

Conclusion:

Partnerships take focus and communication to be successful. LEGACY has a proven approach to building a culture between 3PL and client partner that becomes the foundation for a successful & collaborative relationship. The result with this Fortune 100 aerospace client was no different. Frequent and actionable communication cascaded from weekly business review sessions. Operations leadership shared both short-term tactical needs and long-term strategic objectives, allowing LEGACY to execute the best solution to drive performance. Continuous improvement was engrained into the operational culture to ensure performance, cost and safety initiatives were always moving forward positively.

Formal communication regularly on the business drivers with a focus on actionable data, a transparent business model that keeps attention on the measureable performance, and a collaborative approach between two partners ensures both sides are actively involved in strategic adjustments as the business evolves.

LEGACY and this aerospace client are committed to driving the success of the business collaboratively. A partnership with an eye to the future is truly powering the lift off of all their clients. This case study is a reflection of a successful client/3PL outsourcing partnership, one driven by engagement of front line team members — and strategic alignment of top leadership from both sides.