Hubbell Inc., a $3B manufacturer of electrical and electronic products
Hubbell, an organisation built by acquisition (37 acquisitions in 16 years), was characterised by multiple cultures and diverse practises and was historically managed as a collection of businesses. After years of successful growth, sales and profitability at this $2+ billion global maker of electricity transmission products had flattened. In order to fund their stated growth goal, Hubbell needed to integrate their many business processes, reduce working capital, and cut operating costs across more than 30 worldwide locations.
In early 2002, Hubbell had too much working capital and they were unable to adapt to rapidly changing marketing conditions. Former CEO Tim Powers wanted the company to undergo dramatic change and issued an aggressive challenge to the organisation just one year into its lean transformation.
“2X4” Strategy Objectives |
Operating Income |
Cash Flow |
| 2x inventory turns by per year | – | $150M |
| 2% margin improvement per year | $50M | |
| 2% market share improvement | $25M | |
| Total Improvements | $75M | $150M |
In conjunction with the Hubbell leadership team, TBM developed a comprehensive go-forward plan for all the major operating divisions and began directly implementing the LeanSigma transformation. In support of this transformation plan, we also began selectively training key continuous improvement professionals and began training the first-line leadership teams on how to independently drive and sustain change in their organisation.
“I’ve found TBM to be truer to Toyota Production System principals and the core of process improvement than any other consulting firm – but their expertise extends well beyond process improvement. They’re not only solving problems, they’re changing us. TBM is truly our partner.”
At a Glance
Client
Results
