I know what it's like doing things yourselves, we've been doing things ourselves for the past 10 years, and we have made some very good improvements but not at the right pace. With Chartwell the performance improvements are fast paced and sustainable.
People did not think Chartwell and GTE (Growth Through Excellence) would succeed, I think it's a natural reaction when consultants come in, 'we've seen it all before', 'it'll work for a bit then they'll go off and nothing will happen'. For those people who say 'it will never work', it has worked and continues to do so.
A crucial part the success is that Chartwell have been with us and helped us all the way through. I see both Andy and Jenny as friends; I know I've sent emails to them for help on matters, and I see that as something to continue. It says a lot about the relationship that I can just pick up the phone.
"I know that if I've got an issue I wouldn't think twice about calling Jenny or Andy, they're still very much interested in the business and what's going on." Jonathan Lloyd, Continuous Improvement Facilitator
It's the commitment from senior management that has provided the platform to succeed. We ensured that time was allocated and adhered to. Jonathan's [seconded to full time Continuous Improvement role] now replaced Jenny: we've put him in a full time role, and it's absolutely critical; we probably would have slipped back a little, but he's not let us.
The people we've got, I think that's the biggest asset. The improvements in the warehouse are a credit to the team we put in there. That team works really well together.We did a stock take yesterday which took 10 minutes with no amendments.
We've probably put 50 people through LEAN training, but the projects we've chosen to work on have had less impact. With Chartwell it's been quicker, focused, and measurable. We have seen direct improvements from the actions we've taken, you can only be confident in it. Chartwell haven't let it slip and fail.
