Florentines Patisserie - Sustainable Business Network

Introduction of Lean Manufacturing
Management recognised early on that it was important for the company to consolidate its position after 3 years of
aggressive sales growth and concentrate on the internal robustness of the business. In February 2010, Lean
Manufacturing i was implemented into the business to cope with system issues faced by having a larger range and
production facility.
Florentines was clear that they wanted to survive the difficult change from a small batch producer to a larger
manufacturer and the productivity improvement project was implemented throughout the company. Lean
manufacturing has been a large part of helping Florentines to scale up and re-design almost all facets of the business.
The company has implemented change across the entire company from the business structure, production processes,
warehouse systems, finished products inventory, new products, accounting practices, and sales and marketing. This
helped give a clear focus and strategy to help the company improve its profitability.
Staff Training
Florentines realised early on in the Lean process that productivity was going to be a large factor in helping the company
survive and prosper. Most of the products are hand-made and without the correct flow and procedures, competing in
the marketplace would be difficult if not impossible.
A considerable amount of time was spent on staff training around continuous improvement. In less than a year, over
150 continuous improvement ideas were suggested and almost all of these were implemented.
Creation of New Roles
An existing staff member, experienced in production planning and lean processes, was re-stationed into the production
planning role with a view to improving the production processes and systems. Significant improvements were made in
this area. Another person was employed to take over many of the production planning tasks so that the experienced
staffer could further develop the productivity programme that has been set up. These are both new roles and huge
resources have been allocated to this programme of continuous improvement.
Change Management
Florentines realised early on that the change couldn’t be imposed upon the staff but rather they needed to buy into the
change and lean process. Although not initially easy, it was supported by the management team’s determination and
patience. To better facilitate this change process, and so that the managing director could spend the considerable time
required with the staff, a person was employed to take on his role in the sales and marketing department.
After a large amount of staff awareness training and knowledge building, Florentines worked hard on aligning the aims
and values of the business with the needs of staff. Again, much of this was done with staff consultation. Although still in
the early stages of this change process, the business believes in continuous learning and incremental improvement.
Florentines is now in the process of breaking down its strategic vision into smaller measurable KPI’s and performance
measures.
Sustainability Measures
• Moved from plastic milk bottles to bags even though they are more expensive. This saved one large rubbish bin
and pick-up per week.
• Implemented a recycle bin for all cardboard products.
• Changed to a new supplier that used recycled cardboard for all cake packaging.
• Purchased new freezer equipment that has reduced power bill from $1.01 per square foot to $0.32 per square
foot.
• Moved from having four colour printers throughout the business to one more efficient colour printer which has
saved 30% in costs over the last three months.
• Any waste food products is now given to pig farmers instead of dumping.
• All staff are encouraged to turn off all computers etc. prior to leaving for home.