Case studies

Results that speak for themselves.

Real engagements. Real outcomes. Here's what fractional MD support looks like in practice for manufacturing and industrial SMEs.

01Precision EngineeringSupply Chain

Cutting supplier costs by 23% without losing a single key relationship.

The challenge

A 45-person precision engineering business in Greater Manchester had grown quickly but its supply chain hadn't kept pace. Supplier relationships were informal, pricing hadn't been reviewed in years, and a single-source dependency on a critical component had nearly caused a production shutdown twice in 18 months.

What we did

We conducted a full supply chain audit over six weeks — mapping every supplier, spend category, and dependency. We ran a structured renegotiation process with the top 12 suppliers by spend, introduced dual-sourcing on the three highest-risk components, and implemented a simple supplier scorecard system that the operations manager could run without external support.

23%

Reduction in annual supplier spend

Critical single-source dependencies eliminated

£180k

Annualised saving delivered

6 weeks

From audit to implementation

"We knew we were paying too much but didn't have the time or the leverage to do anything about it. Having someone in the room who'd done this before made all the difference."
— Operations Director, Precision Engineering SME

02Fabrication & WeldingQuality Management

ISO 9001 achieved in four months — and actually used day-to-day.

The challenge

A fabrication and welding business with 30 employees had been told by a major customer that ISO 9001 certification was a condition of continued supply. Previous attempts to achieve certification had stalled twice — once due to cost, once because the documentation burden had overwhelmed the team.

What we did

We took a pragmatic approach: build a quality management system that reflected how the business actually worked, not how a textbook said it should. We ran workshops with the production team to map real processes, wrote documentation that people would actually read, and prepared the business for a Stage 1 and Stage 2 audit within a four-month window.

4 months

From engagement start to certification

Major non-conformances at audit

£400k

Customer contract retained

100%

Team trained and system embedded

"Every other consultant we'd spoken to made it sound impossibly complicated. This was straightforward, practical, and the team actually bought into it."
— Managing Director, Fabrication Business

03Industrial DistributionProcess Improvement

Throughput up 31% — same headcount, same facility.

The challenge

An industrial distributor processing around 800 orders per day was struggling with capacity. The MD believed the only solution was a larger warehouse and more staff. A preliminary review suggested the real problem was process — specifically, a pick-and-pack operation that had evolved organically over eight years and was riddled with unnecessary movement, duplication, and rework.

What we did

We ran a value stream mapping exercise across the full order fulfilment process, from goods-in to despatch. The analysis identified 14 distinct waste points. We prioritised the six highest-impact changes, redesigned the pick-face layout, introduced a simple batch-picking methodology, and ran a two-week 5S programme with the warehouse team. No new systems. No capital expenditure.

31%

Increase in daily order throughput

£0

Capital expenditure required

Waste points identified and addressed

2 weeks

To implement core changes

"I was convinced we needed a bigger building. Turns out we just needed someone to look at what we were actually doing."
— Managing Director, Industrial Distributor

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