Sectors
These are the manufacturing environments this practice is built around. We name them because the operating conditions genuinely differ, and not to imply coverage of every industry a consultancy could claim.
Variety is the defining constraint. Setup dominates the cost of a short run, quoting is done against a capacity picture that ages within a week, and the schedule is rebuilt by hand every morning. Improvement that assumes stable, repetitive volume does not survive contact with this environment.
Relevant practice
Engineering and operations share the critical path. Late design change propagates into purchasing and assembly, configuration multiplies the part master, and long-lead castings or electronics set the floor on responsiveness. Flow problems here are usually information problems before they are material problems.
Relevant practice
Asset utilisation and freight geography drive the economics. Demand is seasonal and weather-exposed, product is heavy relative to its value, and the service radius of a plant is a commercial fact rather than a logistics detail. Footprint questions dominate, and they are rarely answered by unit cost alone.
Relevant practice
Speed of reorder and changeover discipline set the competitive position. SKU proliferation from customer-side branding decisions arrives without a corresponding increase in run length, waste and yield sit close to the margin line, and customer service expectations are measured in days.
Relevant practice
Next
We would rather decline than claim experience of a setting we do not work in. Describe the operation and we will say honestly whether the practice fits.