{"id":6666,"date":"2026-10-10T19:26:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T17:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bm4u.cz\/the-greatest-opportunities-for-improvement-were-not-in-the-machines-they-lay-in-the-connections-between-sales-planning-production-quality-and-maintenance\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T19:59:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T17:59:28","slug":"the-greatest-opportunities-for-improvement-were-not-in-the-machines-they-lay-in-the-connections-between-sales-planning-production-quality-and-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bm4u.cz\/en\/the-greatest-opportunities-for-improvement-were-not-in-the-machines-they-lay-in-the-connections-between-sales-planning-production-quality-and-maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"How We Increased Production Performance in 12 Months Without Building a New Facility, Buying New Machines or Hiring Additional Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The greatest opportunities for improvement were not in the machines. They lay in the connections between sales, planning, production, quality and maintenance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

In 2025, the company had annual revenue of approximately CZK 1.2 billion, more than 450 employees and a multi-shift production operation. Orders were plentiful, and the shop floor was busy. Machines were fully utilised, and employees were working overtime. Yet the same problems kept recurring. Customer orders were not delivered on time. Quality was inconsistent. Production schedules were constantly revised, and warehouses were filled with work in progress.<\/p>\n\n

The maintenance team was dealing with breakdowns almost continuously. Meanwhile, management was increasingly considering an investment of approximately CZK 150 million in a new production hall and additional equipment. The reasoning was straightforward: production could not keep up, so more capacity was needed.<\/p>\n\n

The owner was convinced that the company had reached its production limits. To continue growing, it would need a new production hall, more machines, an additional shift and more employees.<\/p>\n\n

In other words, the problem was seen as a lack of production capacity. Unfortunately, many Czech manufacturing companies take the same view.<\/p>\n\n

Sufficient capacity but inefficient use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

At the start of our engagement, we conducted a detailed analysis of the company\u2019s production operations. The findings were surprising. The company was not suffering from a capacity shortage. The problem lay in how it used its existing capacity.<\/p>\n\n

The analysis revealed that many of the issues did not originate on the shop floor. They arose weeks or even months before production began. The sales team relied on inaccurate demand forecasts, and production was often based on anticipated future demand.<\/p>\n\n

Customers would subsequently change product specifications, delivery dates or order volumes. Products remained in stock while production needed capacity for new orders. Frequent changes in priorities, constant rescheduling, production line changeovers and growing volumes of work in progress compounded the problem. The result was a paradox: production was fully loaded, yet the company still felt it lacked sufficient capacity.<\/p>\n\n

Many of the problems originated outside production<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Another surprising finding was that some of the issues management viewed as production problems did not originate in production at all. They arose at the interfaces between sales, planning and production. Sales wanted to accommodate the customer. Production wanted to plan efficiently. Customers changed their priorities. The entire system was constantly adjusting..<\/p>\n\n

As a result:<\/p>\n\n