The Challenge
Eight weeks, or the bank moves
A frozen food processor faced bank action on a $20M loan — six months of no profit, swinging order volumes, inventory chaos, and a breakdown in day-to-day operational control. The mandate was unforgiving: Fourtre had eight weeks to turn it around before the bank moved.
The Approach
The strategic pivot
- ▸Convert C-suite financial goals into shop-floor metrics every operator could see and influence
- ▸Accept that no plan survives first contact — execute, measure, and adjust in real time
- ▸Treat lead time as the ultimate metric, because it exposes every other form of waste
- ▸Deploy Standardized Work across all three facilities so the gains would hold after we left
The Outcome
Measurable results
- ✔Business returned to profitability in just six weeks
- ✔Lead time reduced by 46%
- ✔Overtime reduced by 90%
- ✔A third-generation family business was saved