JD Sports (Fashion) Ltd - Case Study

Hilton Productivity Services has supported JD Sports with a full range of key operational workforce and process improvement services, including mentoring of personnel, resulting in significant savings for the business and a stronger Industrial Engineering team supported by tried and tested structures.

Operational Workforce Planning

Working closely alongside the client’s own team, Hilton Productivity Services Ltd provided JD Sports (Distribution) with a new activity-based operational workforce planning model. Our new model gave the client much deeper insight, including:

The measurement of labour standards that enabled the model to be built up at task level, rather than using broader department KPIs
A full evaluation of indirect work was undertaken so that this was more reflective of actual requirements
New departments were fully updated
All formulas and links were audited, and checks and balances added to the calculation processes

Using the new model to match the hours available to the workload demand based on the weekly forecast identified overall savings of around 15-20%.

Through close personal mentoring over a period of 10 months, we enabled JD Sports’ new industrial engineer to grow in confidence to carry forward the plans identified. The client’s planning team was trained on the new plan, how it was developed and giving them insight into the planning process and best practice to enable them to understand why change was needed. Operations managers benefited from clearer information about the productivity of their people, giving them the confidence to make more informed decisions.

Strategic Operational Process Improvement

Having employed a new Industrial Engineer, JD Sports looked to initiate a new IE programme in the National Distribution Centre and to develop a strategic plan for the first 12 months.

We spent time working collaboratively with the IE, getting to know the Distribution Centre operations and setting out a plan incorporating a number of workstreams including strategic planning, work measurement, process improvement, productivity and KPIs, workforce planning and continuous improvement.

After 12 months, the IE team had grown in confidence and benefited from improved standards measurements, process improvement action plans, accurate systematic KPI reports and a new workforce improvement model, amongst other support.

Tactical Operational Process Improvement

During work measurement in the client’s goods-in department, we identified that the inefficient floor layout was causing excess travelling time and disruption to the flow of orders.

A new layout was designed and agreed with the operations teams and trials confirmed that by making the changes, the flow had been improved and working practices in the department were more efficient.

Industrial Engineering

Hilton Productivity Services developed an initial programme for work measurement, covering direct tasks across all departments by taking small, but representative, samples.

Forming the basis for identifying process improvement opportunities and prioritising the next phase of the work measurement plan, a project plan was agreed and resources and time allocated to each department to complete the exercise.