Since the 1970’s, Kitchens by Peter Gill have built a reputation as one of Australia’s finest custom cabinetry companies. Their team project manages the entire process from conceptual drawings through to detailed designs, manufacturing and installation, all wrapped up in a quality of service which is second to none. Over the years, they invested in new tools to automate tasks and improve efficiencies, but now the time had come to bring everything together and maximize output. How could they leverage their current systems, streamline processes, and enhance collaboration so everyone was empowered to do their job better?
Understanding the need
With so many projects on the go and a steady flow of new jobs coming in, the team at Kitchens by Peter Gill realized that success was indeed a great problem to have. They also realized they needed more visibility into jobs and better planning tools to keep up and deliver.
Success is measured by client satisfaction and running efficient, profitable operations. For Peter Gill, that meant finding new ways to ensure customer expectations were met and that the business was maximizing its capacity.
Two things were clearly needed:
- They had to better align the business’ front end (sales/office) and back end (production) so everyone was able to deliver on promises.
- Management needed better visibility across all stages of the business to better plan and execute jobs.
Matching the solution to the need
The time to automate had come. But Peter himself was not looking to invest in complex technology or reinvent the wheel. Rather, he was looking for powerful but simple solutions to enhance and optimize his existing operations.
Up until this point, there was a lot of guesswork, too much over or under booking, miscommunication, and frustration between the front and back ends of the business. All of which tend to trickle down into the customer experience.
He needed a solution that was simple to integrate and user friendly, i.e., fit into their business process and make it easier for his team to do their jobs. It was especially important to bring everyone on the same page as soon as possible and ensure they had shared visibility of real-time information to plan more intelligently.
He reached out to Leigh Swalling of Innovera Australia because of their long-standing partnership since implementing Cabinet Vision a decade prior. With a true understanding of Peter’s goals and the company’s existing technologies, Leigh realized all signs pointed to WEB-CAB’s Planning Assistant software as the ideal fit.
Taking the right approach
Leigh worked closely with Jayden Dallas, the Design & Technical Consultant at Kitchens by Peter Gill. They began with a discovery phase to identify key stages of the business and the capacity for each. Then they could deconstruct every stage of a job into key steps, which were then mapped out as a workflow.
Planning Assistant would serve as the automation hub where workflows were programmed, with corresponding production capacity measurments when required. They could then reverse engineer every job and ensure scheduling made sense right from the beginning based on key capacity measures like inventory, machinery, employees, tasks, etc., across every stage of production.
Seeing immediate results
- Jobs are scheduled from the start based on requirements and actual capacity, such as materials for cutting, paint required, cabinets to be assembled
- Managers can see the exact stage of every job and the next task in line to ensure resources are available
- Customer service is next level with visibility into each job to answer questions and proactively keep customers advised
- Overbooking is a thing of the past, as are gaps in scheduling and wasted downtime
- Managers can schedule, prioritize ad reprioritize tasks based on accurate data
Realizing the benefits
Kitchens by Peter Gill are experiencing immediate business benefits since installing Planning Assistant. Not only do they now have more visibility into the business, but they also have the tools to schedule and plan jobs in a way that maximizes their potential.
Teamwork now replaces guesswork (and frustration), bridging the gap between Sales and Production. With Planning Assistant, production ensures a balanced and steady flow, real lead times for accurate scheduling, and accurate lead times for Sales to schedule installation.
Ultimately, all of these enhancements help the company continue to keep customers happy, deliver exceptional products, and have tools in place to grow and adapt.
Let’s talk
We’re here to help guide you towards the best solution for your business. Whether you’re looking to automate your manufacturing process, reduce delivery errors, optimize the sorting of your parts or the assembly of your cabinets, or automate the planning of your activities and manage your deadlines, our team will be happy to talk with you. Our solutions were built specifically for the woodworking industry to solve real pains and drive real business benefits.