Operations Management Absolute Business Services

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

EXAMPLES OF OUR WORK

Here are some examples of assignments completed by Tom Eckmann, Managing Director of Absolute Business Services.

Interim Management/Acquisition - Consumer Products

A Seattle-based consumer products company acquired the brands and other assets of a 75-year-old Midwest manufacturing company. Tom Eckmann led the due diligence process and then worked with the client to develop and implement a strategy to open a new division and close the acquired company. The new division was operational within 45 days after the sale closed and was profitable in the first month. The acquired company operated for another six months while a client team moved production to factories in the Far East. The project duration was approximately nine months.

Operations Improvement -- Retail Drugstore Chain

A large regional drugstore chain wanted to reduce its in-store inventories and implement better inventory control procedures. Tom Eckmann led an in-house inventory reduction team that collected information from the company's point-of-sale database, defined categories and classes of inventory, and profiled the existing inventory within each. The team identified and marked thousands of slow-moving stock keeping units for liquidation. Then they established target inventory levels for each category and developed a reporting system to allow management to monitor actual versus target inventory performance.

Interim Management/Operations Improvement -- Audio Cable Products

A private equity investment firm acquired a mid-sized Midwest manufacturing company. Shortly after the transaction closed, several key executives left to start a competing company. Tom Eckmann stepped in to manage the business, implement operational improvements, and fend off competition from a new company formed by the departed executives. He led the successful effort to reduce operating costs by 30 percent and maintain sales at pre-transaction levels, while the Board recruited a new executive team. The project lasted approximately six months.

Interim Management/Operations Improvement -- Optical Scanning Products

A California-based manufacturer of computer products ran into problems starting production on a new product line. The Board of this venture capital-backed company brought in Tom Eckmann to take over operations. He brought together a team that quickly resolved the manufacturing problems and implemented new purchasing and materials management procedures. Excess inventories dropped, providing vitally needed cash for the company.

Operations Improvement/Divestiture -- High Frequency Microwave Products

The Board of a large Northwest test and measurement instruments company decided to spinout an under-performing division. The business unit had its own sales, R&D and manufacturing operations but relied on other corporate groups for business systems, financial management and other support. Tom Eckmann led the effort to make this division a stand-alone company. Over a six-month period, he reorganized and implemented multiple new systems and procedures. The improved operational performance resulting from this effort caused the Board to reconsider their spinout decision and retain the division as a separate business unit.

Interim Management/Divestiture-- Streaming Tape Drive Products

The Board of a Fortune 500 holding company wanted to divest an under-performing business unit. The company had encountered problems ramping up production on a new product line and was bleeding cash at an increasing rate. Tom Eckmann came in to run operations. He led a team that resolved the technical problems with the new products and got manufacturing on track. He also cut expenses and renegotiated purchase contracts with major component suppliers. He ran operations for seven months until a competitor purchased the company.

Operations Management -- Consumer Electronics

A Fortune 100 company decided to close a under-performing start-up division. The business unit had developed a line of cutting-edge consumer electronic products for the home and established manufacturing operations in the Far East. Unfortunately the products were too costly to manufacture and too complex for consumer to adopt. Tom Eckmann led an orderly shutdown of operations that included negotiating contract terminations with Asian manufacturers and destroying all production tooling.

Interim Management/Operations Improvement -- Audio Products

A leading Northwest manufacturer of high-performance consumer and professional audio equipment encountered problems with the introduction of several new products. The Board of this publicly owned company brought in Tom Eckmann to lead manufacturing and get production moving again. Over a seven-month period, he outsourced non-critical assembly operations, implemented new manufacturing control systems, and introduced lean manufacturing to the assembly floor. Defect rates plunged and production rates rose substantially.