Engagements
Representative Engagements
All engagements are conducted under strict confidentiality. The following case studies are published in anonymised form with client agreement. Identifying details have been withheld.
Case study 1
Pharmaceutical Distribution · Automated DC · Post go-live failure · Southeast Asia
Structural Recovery - Healthcare Distribution
The situation
A major pharmaceutical distributor undertook a simultaneous enterprise WMS implementation and warehouse relocation. Both failed at go-live. The automated distribution centre came to a complete standstill. Only life-critical products were being fulfilled – manually, recorded on paper, to be booked into the system when it was operational again.
The compounding failure of system architecture, automation design and governance structure had become a balance-sheet event. The operation had effectively ceased to function. SCN was engaged under executive mandate.
The structural diagnosis
COMPASS Index at engagement: 6 - Architectural failure risk.
Framework insight
This engagement illustrates the skewed baseline pattern – the system was never structurally aligned, even at go-live. Recovery required structural realignment across all three vertices before operational recovery was possible.
The intervention
SCN established structural clarity within the first week of engagement – a sequenced recovery plan across all three vertices, prioritised by operational impact and structural dependency.
Outcomes
- Volle operative Erholung vom vollständigen Stillstand
- Delivery reliability: 0% → 95% within one day, achieved within 90 days of engagement
- Delivery reliability: 100% within two days, achieved within 90 days of engagement
- Workforce restructured from 200 to 120 through operating model realignment
- Automation fleet optimised from 9 to 7 VNA machines
- Governance framework established for ongoing lifecycle management
Case study 2
Contract Logistics · Multi-country · Enterprise WMS · APAC and Europe
Global WMS Governance Programme - 17 Countries
The situation
A major global 3PL required a governance and programme architecture for a €40M enterprise WMS rollout across 17 countries and 34 logistics operations in APAC and Europe. The programme covered finished goods, repairs and reverse logistics for a single major technology client. Multiple annual New Product Introduction blackout periods and continuous change requests from the client created a complex governance environment.
The structural diagnosis
Structural challenge
A programme of this scale and complexity required a governance architecture capable of maintaining structural alignment between the global template design, local operational requirements and the client’s evolving commercial demands – across 17 different regulatory and operational environments simultaneously.
Without structural governance, a global template becomes a document that nobody owns and everybody deviates from. Configuration drift accumulates locally. The template loses structural coherence. By the time the deviation is discovered at programme level, it has become embedded in multiple operations and is expensive to correct.
Framework insight
At global programme scale, structural governance is the programme. What determines whether the investment delivers its returns is whether the governance architecture can maintain structural coherence across 17 operating environments simultaneously – and whether somebody owns that architecture.
The intervention
SCN established the structural PMO and governance model, including: global template governance, master data strategy and GS1 compliance architecture, automation integration alignment, capital tracking framework, cross-functional executive steering and SIT/UAT governance across 5,500 users.
Outcomes
- Structural PMO and governance model established before first country go-live
- Global template covering 80% of functionality delivered across all countries
- Master data standardised to GS1 compliance across 34 operations
- First pilot (South Korea) delivered successfully as baseline for 33-country rollout
- Programme governance maintained through multiple NPI blackout periods
- Capital tracking and risk management maintained across €40M programme scope
Case study 3
Infrastructure · Automated High-Bay · Capital Reinvestment Decision · Switzerland
Structural Assessment and Capital Decision Framework - Fully Automated High-Bay
The situation
A €1.5B infrastructure group required independent validation of the structural position of an existing high-bay automation environment before committing to a full replacement programme valued at multiple millions. Three vertical conveyors had been progressively taken offline over a period of years – only one of three was operational. Transaction time per pallet had increased from one minute to four minutes.
The structural diagnosis
Structural diagnosis
COMPASS Framework™ assessment revealed governance failure, not technology failure. Years of local modifications to the automation control architecture without structural oversight had accumulated into an integration landscape that no single function fully understood or owned. The Governance vertex returned a maturity score indicating severe structural drift.
Framework insight
The most valuable output was the capital decision framework – which prevented the PE firm from committing major reinvestment on a structurally undefined foundation.
The intervention
SCN designed the overall logistics architecture for the automation replacement, produced a current-state documentation and structural risk matrix, and implemented immediate stabilisation measures in the existing control system.
Outcomes
- Three vertical conveyors returned to operation from one
- Transaction time reduced from four minutes to one minute per pallet
- Annual saving: CHF 75,000 from immediate stabilisation measures
- Full logistics architecture for automation replacement delivered
- Executive-level capital investment framework produced before commitment
- WMS feasibility assessment delivered to inform system selection
Case study 4
Automotive Aftermarket · Distribution Operations · South and East Africa
Structural Realignment - Automotive Aftermarket Distribution
The situation
A global manufacturing group’s distribution operations across South and East Africa were significantly underperforming. Stock accuracy had deteriorated to 55%. Pick accuracy stood at 75%. Daily short picks were costing significant lost revenue. The reverse logistics cycle was running at 12 weeks against a viable 2-week standard. The WMS configuration had drifted materially from the intended operating model.
The structural diagnosis
COMPASS Index: 29 - Severe structural drift.
The failures were structural, not operational. The WMS configuration no longer reflected the operating model. Governance oversight of the 3PL service provider was insufficient. The operating model had not been updated to reflect the changed distribution network requirements.
Framework insight
The operation was meeting its declared targets through accumulated workarounds that masked the structural misalignment beneath them. A COMPASS assessment at an earlier stage would have detected this drift at a fraction of the eventual correction cost.
The intervention
SCN conducted a full structural assessment and redesigned the operating model, WMS configuration and 3PL governance framework across all product divisions simultaneously.
Outcomes
- Stock accuracy: 55% → 98%
- Pick accuracy: 75% → 99.6%
- Order picker travel distance reduced by 75%
- Daily short picks eliminated: ZAR 270,000 per day in recovered revenue
- Reverse logistics cycle: 12 weeks → 2 weeks
- E-commerce process designed and implemented from zero
- Overall operational improvement: 40% equating to approximately ZAR 70M per annum
Case study 5
Building Materials · Manufacturing · Supply Chain Architecture · Germany
Enterprise Supply Chain Structural Redesign - Manufacturing
The situation
A €400M building materials group required the restructuring of its supply chain function across 19 manufacturing plants. The supply chain department was operating in execution mode rather than providing the strategic decision support the business required. System integration between planning, ERP and transport management was fragmented. Master data was inconsistent across plants. A significant system upgrade programme was being considered.
The structural diagnosis
COMPASS Index: 62 - Structural drift emerging.
The technology was not the constraint. The architecture was. The supply chain function had been designed as a transactional execution engine for a business half its current complexity. The planned system upgrade would have built new technology on the same structurally misaligned foundation.
Framework insight
Infrastructure thinking identified the structural problem before additional capital was committed to compounding it.
The intervention
SCN advised the Supply Chain Director and CFO on the full structural redesign – including a 10-point improvement programme, demand forecasting system implementation, S&OP process design, ERP-TMS integration revision, and master data governance framework based on GS1 standards.
Outcomes
- 10-point structural improvement programme generating €6M in annualised cost savings
- Demand forecasting system implemented with rolling 3-month horizon
- S&OP meeting cadence established aligning demand and production planning
- ERP-TMS integration revised improving delivery reliability and date accuracy
- Master data standard established and GS1-compliant repository implemented
- Supply chain function repositioned as strategic decision support
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